A New Direction for Sara
by Gleeful Canuck
Summary: There is a new face at William McKinley High School. The main focus will be on Finn and my new character Sara. There will be Finchel, they may break up but they will find their way back to each other eventually as I am a big Finchel shipper. There will be Klaine- I don't want to part them.
1. Chapter 1

**A New Direction for Sara**

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. **  


_Overview: There is a new face at William McKinley High School._

_This story is based on the start of season 4 where the seniors have moved on. Rachael and Kurt are already in New York, at NYADA and Vogue respectively. Finn has already been semi honorably discharged from the Army and is home in Lima feeling directionless. He turns to Will Shuester for guidance and support and Will asks Finn to stay and help with the New Directions while figuring things out. The others have gone off to their various persuits and they may return in similar ways to how they have on the show. The main focus will be on Finn. There will be Finchel, they may break up but they will find their way back to each other eventually as I am a big Finchel shipper. There will be Klaine- and I don't want to part them._

**Chapter 1- New Beginnings and Old Fears**

Sara studied the reflection in the mirror and made a face. She thought she was over the daily anxiety of high school and the "what to wear" drama. Freshman year at the University of Toledo had been an awakening for her as she learned to accept herself for who she was and once that happened she was suddenly surrounded by friends and for a while there had even been a boy. Now a year later, and as part of her teacher education, she was being forced to return to a high school to observe and participate as a student teacher.

The girl staring back at Sara was hardly the girl from freshman year. More a combination of the geeky girl she felt she had been in high school, combined with a matronly spinster teacher. Her black heeled boots (now a staple in her wardrobe due to her lack of height) were mostly covered by a long grey and black check wool skirt, which she had paired with a grey and white knit twinset. Her make-up was subtle; just a touch of light blush, a smudge of grey eyeliner on the upper lids of her green eyes and a swish of her favorite cranberry lip gloss. The only jewelry she wore was her gold watch (a high school graduation present from her parents) and the tiny gold hoops in her aunt had presented her with just the night before. "A little something for good luck tomorrow dear", Aunt Emily had said as she slid the small box across the table to Sara over dinner.

And then there was the hair- Sara had kept her dark brown locks in a shorter than shoulder length bob to control the curls through high school but over the summer from high school to college, into freshman year and over the past summer she had grown her hair to about the middle of her shoulder blades. The added length and weight of her hair pulled her high school tight curls into looser waves that cascaded over her shoulders like swirls of melted chocolate being poured onto a slab to cool. But today, Sara had pulled her tresses into a severe knot at the nape of her neck and tucked and pinned in any stray strands or ends. Her glasses were back- the "funky" ones she had from high school because sometimes her contacts bothered her in new locations and her eyes twitched and blinked and watered enough to make her seem like a crazed weirdo. That was not something Sara needed today.

Sara looked over at the picture frames on her dresser. Her closest friends smiled back at her from behind the highly polished glass. First there was Christie, a blonde haired, blue eyed gymnast from Florida studying rehab medicine who was her former roommate and current best friend. Then there was Melody, a leggy pale redhead from Maine who was the only one of her friends to also be studying to be a teacher. Next there was Annie from Minnesota with a dark complexion and even darker hair, who had also been an outsider in high school due to a misguided attempt at attracting the attention of a boy in her freshman year that had failed horribly and left her branded a loser for 4 years. Annie was studying for a general arts degree. And finally in the last frame was a picture of Sara and Chad -the boy. A tallish (it wasn't hard to be taller than Sara though when she only measured in at just under 5 feet tall) young man that at times seemed gangly and awkward, with typical California golden hair, blue green eyes and a smattering of freckles across the bronzed skin of his broad nose and cheek bones. Chad often reminded Sara of a blonde Clark Kent/Superman. They had dated for a couple of months before parting as friends once they realized their chemistry was short lived. Sara still considered Chat to be one of her best friends despite the end of their romantic relationship. She had even woken up to an email from Chad that morning with quote from her favorite Louisa May Alcott story, "Little Women" in it and his wishes that she have a successful and triumphant return to high school. Chad was a Literature major and was heavily involved in the drama department at UT like Sara. She knew that his sexuality was often questioned by others and at the start of their relationship many had considered her to be his beard.

Sara sighed as she grabbed her keys off the dresser and swung her bag with her notebook, pens, wallet, ipod and her current hot read (an original student- written play the UT drama department was considering doing winter term) across her body. She was glad her aunt had gotten a car for her while she was here in Lima. Sara didn't want to have to rely on busses or her aunt to chauffer her around all the time. Sara smiled as she climbed into the yellow vw bug. The car was bright and cheery and helped lift Sara's mood. When she took out her ipod and plugged it into the car stereo and the small space was flooded with songs from her classic 80's rock playlist, her mood improved even more. "I've got this!" she thought as she backed out of the driveway and cruised to McKinley High School.

Sara sat in the office at McKinley waiting for Principal Figgins to introduce her to her teaching mentor, one of the English teachers, a Mr. Dan Thayer. Mr Thayer, it turned out, was a 50-something year old English teacher who smelled like a combination of strong black coffee and menthol cigarettes. His graying and thinning hair looked slick and greasy and the colors of his clothes were as muted as Sara's own wardrobe choices that morning. "Mental note: try to add a little color to our palate" Sara thought to herself as she followed her mentor for the next 12 weeks around and made notes in her notebook as he described different areas of the school. Once they settled in what would be "their" classroom, Sara asked Mr. Thayer (who asked that she only address him as Dan when students were not around) about extracurricular activities at McKinley.

"Am I expected to take on and shadow your extracurricular activities as well Dan? Or can I find other things more in my own wheelhouse to participate in?" Sara asked him cautiously. Dan Thayer had already told her he was the faculty advisor for the chess club, the A/V club and the debate club. None of those were particularly interesting to Sara although the debate club would do in a pinch.

"What are your areas of interest, Sara?" Dan Thayer asked as he took time to assess this young woman in front of him. She seemed like much of a mystery to him and he had no idea on what she could possibly be interested in as far as extracurricular activities. Her clothing choices were somber and much reserved for a young woman. The glasses, although almost hip, seemed too big for her small face, and the hair was too severe to make her seem anything else than 10 or more years older than she really was. The only thing that hinted to her real age was her petite stature and the black heeled boots peeking out from under the skirt as she crossed her legs and sat on the stool next to his desk. "Usually my student teachers just shadow my activities as well, but truthfully no one has even questioned that before now. I guess if you were to tell me something you were interested in and we have that at this school I could ask the current faculty advisor if they would like to take you on as well" Dan suggested.

"I like writing" Sara suggested. "Is there a school paper I can join?" she asked.

"We don't have a paper, we have blogs and a morning news report" Dan replied, "and that is all under the umbrella of my A/V club" he smiled proudly.

"No writing club of any kind?" Sara questioned optimistically.

"Afraid not."

"Drama? Theatre?" she continued.

"Not in recent years- funding cutbacks you know" Dan replied with a knowing head nod. "But we do have a glee club. They made it to Nationals and placed 12th 2 years ago and then won the whole she-bang last year! They do musicals too."

"I'm not really a singer" Sara started, "but I guess that is as close to a stage as I am going to get around here huh?"

"Unless you want to join Sue Sylvester and the Cheerios but as your mentor I would strongly advise against that. I wouldn't wish that woman on my worst enemy, let alone a young would be teacher one day" Dan replied with a wink that made Sara feel a little uncomfortable. "Let's go talk to Will Schuester of the Glee club. He's a decent guy and I bet he would be more than happy to have some help with his Glee kids."

Sara followed Dan Thayer through the halls again and they entered a room with no desks, a large white board filled with names, shelves filled with cds and some old school vinyl plus books of sheet music. As Dan Thayer approached Will Schuester, Mr Shuester instructed his students to "carry on while I talk to Mr Thayer." Sara hung out in the doorway and took the opportunity to take in the classroom. At the other end of the room, Sara could see a trophy case with some certificates, a couple of trophies and some framed photos. The bulk of the space of the room was split in two parts. One part was the floor that housed an older man with glasses and a beard at a piano, a couple of student musicians at various instruments and room to move. The majority of the students in the room were in the second part of the room. A set of risers where they had gathered in groups and clumps in chairs and standing, dancing to the melodious sound of their own voices singing in various harmonies. One lone student sat in a wheelchair near the risers, rapping along to the beat provided by a student with dreads longer than Sara's own neatly tucked away tresses. As she listened and took in the chaos of the room, Sara was sure she could pick out at least 4 different songs being sung by the small group of students. Upon closer inspection, Sara spies two girls in cheerleading uniforms, 2 other girls, the boy in the wheelchair, the boy with the dreads, plus 5 other boys. Sara then noticed another entrance to the room at the other end, near the musicians. The boy who had been drumming on the drums looked up and caught her eye momentarily and rose from his perch and began to walk towards her just before Will Shuester clamored to take control of the room again.

"Guys, girls, can I have your attention please" Mr Shuester said to his students. Sara took notice of Will Shuester at that moment. He was surprisingly younger than Mr Thayer, although still older than Sara or the students. His head was full of wavy light brown hair and he was wearing faded blue jeans, what looked to be cowboy boots, a striped button up shirt and a navy sweater vest. His voice boomed as he commanded his students' attention and although based on the chaos she had just observed in the room, Sara thought he had no chance of getting the students to settle back down, they quickly although begrudgingly took their seats and turned their attention back to their teacher. The boy from behind the drums stopped mid stride, looked to Mr Shuester for guidance and was motioned to just lean up against the piano.

Sara quickly scanned the boy that had been on his way to approach her. On his feet he wore seemingly trendy runners that had seen better days, his long legs were clad in what looked to be the softest denim Sara had ever seen and she quickly guessed his height to be in the over 6 foot range. He wore a striped rugby shirt with a collar but with the top two buttons undone. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows from the drumming and he was sporting a watch on his right arm. His skin was pale but it looked lightly freckled and Sara could see soft brown arm fur glistening in the sun streaming in the upper windows of the room. His hair was a warm medium brown and cut short. Sara thought the color of his hair was the color of the shaved chocolate she topped countless lattes with while working as a barista in high school. And she was sure if she could just reach out to touch his hair, she would find it soft yet spiky from a combination of the shortness of the cut and a little bit of product.

Sara flushed as she realized everyone in the room was staring at her and Mr Shuester was motioning her to come in from her perch in the doorway. Will Schuester must have introduced her or said her name or something to his students while she was observing piano boy. As she walked past the piano and entered the room to take a place beside the Glee teacher, she heard the raspy voice of the piano boy stage whisper "Earth to Miss Walsh" and she felt her cheeks burn with even more color. Sara had no idea what she could possibly offer Will Shuester and his "New Directions" but she immediately felt a pull to this small group of students.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. **

Chapter 2- Introductions

"Good morning everyone, like Mr. Shuester said, my name is Miss Walsh and I am here from the University of Toledo student teaching with Mr. Thayer, so maybe I will see a few of you in English class. But Mr Thayer and I do not share similar extracurricular interests and given that I am part of the UT drama club, we thought Glee Club might be the best extracurricular fit for me while I am here at McKinely." Sara looked around the room then at the dozen or so teens as they looked at her clearly expecting more from her. She was just about to open her mouth to say something else when the loud sound of a school bell cut through the silence and startled Sara so much she visibly shuddered. The glee room was filled with the sound of metal chairs scraping across the floor as the members of the glee club jumped up out of their chairs and saunted off to class filling the room with teenage chatter as they called out their good-byes and see you laters and Mr Shuester reminded them of rehersal after school that day.

Sara turned to find Mr Thayer then, but before they could walk down the hall to their classroom to start the day she needed to thank Will Shuester. "Thank you Mr Shuester for allowing me to shadow your work with the glee club, I'm not a great singer but I do enjoy music and know my around the staging of dramatic events," Sara said to the younger of the two teachers she would now be spending time with. It was then that Sara spied the drummer, who had moved from his perch at the piano and was now crouched by the drum kit, stuffing his sticks into his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. He was obviously not in a rush to get to first period as the other students had been. "He must have a free period or study period or something" Sara thought to herself.

"It's my pleasure to help you both out Dan, Sara" Will Shuester said as the threesome began to walk towards the exit.

"Later Mr Shue, Mr Thayer, nice to meet you Miss Walsh. I'll see you around" the drummer said as he walked out from behind the drums.

Will Shuester spun on his heel and turned to face the teen "Are you going to be able to make it to practice this afternoon Finn?" he asked.

"You couldn't keep me away if you tried" the teen replied before high fiving the teacher and then heading in the opposite direction of the three teachers once they exited the classroom.

"What is Hudson even doing still here?" Dan Thayer asked Will Shuester as they walked on. "Didn't he graduate last year?"

"He's upgrading a couple of his classes Dan, and then helping me with Glee and helping Shannon with the football kids-working out and training with them during their free periods or encouraging them to be using the time to keep their grades up and not being a nuisance. He's a little lost, and just needs some guidance right now" Will Shuester explained sympathetically.

Dan Thayer shook his head, "Makes zero sense to me but what do I know?" he chuckled.

Sara was quiet as they walked on, storing away tidbits of information she was gleaming from their conversation.

As Will Shuester turned and walked into his own classroom, Sara quickened her pace and fell into step with Dan. "Well, Miss Walsh, I think for today, maybe even for this week I'll introduce you to my students but then just have you sit at the back of the class and observe. We have a free period last thing Friday and so we can meet then, go over your observations and start from there. How does that sound to you?" he suggested.

Sara nodded and smiled "That sounds great."

After her impromptu introduction in Glee club, Sara was a little more prepared when it came to Mr Thayer's English classes. She introduced herself, told them she was an English major and a Drama minor at the UT faculty of education. She mentioned she also liked yoga and swimming, classic 80s rock and that she would also be helping Mr Shuester with the Glee club. The last comment always garnered a couple of snickers, although Sara wasn't completely sure why. Dan Thayer took advantage of this brief introduction and assigned each student in each one of his classes to write a brief (less than one page) introduction of themselves for Miss Walsh to hand in the next day. Each class reacted the same way with a rousing chorus of groans like they were collectively being kicked in the groin.

The walls in Dan Thayers English class were a faded blue with posters that Sara thought were at least a dozen years old if not as old as she was herself. In a couple of places you could see where there must have been a poster before because the paint was not as sun faded. His Desk was at the front of the room just in front of the double white board. There were book shelves filled with various books running under the windows. The student desks were arranged in 4 rows of 9 and Sara took a seat in the back right hand corner. The classroom had a musty old book smell, like you sometimes find in a library or an antique book store with a faint undertone of menthol cigarettes and stale coffee. From her vantage point at the back of the room, Sara could see the door and out into the hallway when it was open. She could see out the windows but was not as distracted by it as she would have been if she was closer to them. She could see a majority of the students clearly but her lack of height disadvantaged her at being able to see all the way to the front without looking up the aisle. She made a note to ask Mr Thayer if she could bring the high stool to the back of the class and just sit on that and take her notes just to give her a better view.

Just before lunch, Sara was aimlessly looking out the open class door into the hallway when she noticed the drummer from the Glee club, Finn she thought she heard Will call him, just outside the doorway. He was motioning to get someone's attention in the classroom. He had obviously gotten their attention as Sara watched him mime eating and then he jerked his head in the direction of outside where Sara had seen there were some picnic tables earlier, and then motioned to his watch and shot up both hands as if to say in 10 minutes and then he disappeared. Sara didn't realise it was quite so close to lunch time until her stomach softly gurgled and the bell chimed about 7 minutes later.

As the students noisily shuffled out of the class Dan Thayer turned to his young student teacher and asked "about ready for lunch?" Sara remembered from her earlier tour where both the staff lunch room and the cafeteria were so she went to get some lunch from the cafeteria. It was a large white room with one full wall of windows and lots of long tables and chairs. The lines were long and the smell wafting from the front of the line was less than appealing- a mixture of caramelizing onions and curry. Sara hoped there were at least bottled water and maybe some fresh fruit that could quell her hunger until after school. She thought to herself she might want to bring her own lunch from now on. At the front of the line, Sara grabbed a yogurt, an orange, an apple for later and a bottle of water. When she turned around she was temporarily frozen with fear as she was transported back in time about 4 years to her own high school experience. Every day she turned and somehow, hoped and wished she would see someone waving her over to sit down or hear someone call her name. But it rarely happened and she more often than not, would walk out into the halls, find her locker and slide down to the floor in front of it and eat her lunch. Sara shook the memories from her head and walked out of the cafeteria and headed to the staff room to eat.

Will Shuester saw Sara Walsh walk into the staff lunch room that first day and immediately waved her over to where he was sitting with the football coach Shannon Bieste and his finace Emma Pillsbury, "Hey Sara, there's a seat here" he said as he raised to pull out the seat between him and Shannon for the young woman. He was excited his collegue Dan Thayer had introduced them and asked if she could shadow him and the Glee club during her student teaching assignment at McKinley. He'd never had a student teacher before and for some reason, when he first saw Sara Walsh standing in the choir room doorway, he thought she could have been one of his Glee kids. Her theatre background and expertise would help come time for the musical and her staging abilities might boost the clubs chance at sectionals or regionals. "This," Will continued motioning the young woman to the other two he was sitting with, "is Sara Walsh, a student teacher from UT and she is going to be shadowing the New Directions with me. Sara, I would like you to meet my finace Emma Pilsbury, who is also the guidance counselor here" Will explained as he introduced Emma on his left. "And this," Will motioned to his right, "is the football coach, Shannon Bieste".

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Sara said with a smile. "And thank you so much Mr Shuester for inviting me to join your table at lunch."

"Miss Walsh-Sara", Will replied, "please feel free to call me Will unless we are around students and then fell free to call me Mr Shue like they do. And if it is ok with you, I will call you Sara when the students are not around and Miss Walsh when they are."

Sara nodded her approval while she spooned in a mouthful of yogurt. "I'm very excited for this afternoons meeting, will I get to hear any of the students sign today?" Sara questioned after swallowing.

Will nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised if they've cooked up a little welcome number for you- it's kind of what they do. But I'll also have them introduce themselves and let you get a feel for what they are like and we'll be beginning a new group number."

Sara's eyebrows raised in surprise, "I'm not that special" she joked although she was almost giddy at the thought of hearing a song just for her. And if Sara was completely honest with herself, part of her wanted to see the drummer boy again. She wondered if he was just a drummer or was he also a singer. A slow warm flush crept up her neck, onto her face forcing her to look down at the table intently as she tried to banish the thoughts creeping into her mind about a student. Almost immediately, a chance encounter with one student had turned Sara from driven and determined student teacher to a silly school girl with a crush. It was beyond ridiculous and she had to find some way to stop it.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. Additional footnotes about quotes and songs at the bottom of the chapter. **

Chapter 3- Sara's Solo

After lunch Sara returned to the English class and asked Dan if she could take the stool to the back of the room so she could see more easily over the taller students. He said that would be ok and so she took the stool to the back corner. This time, in an effort to pay more attention to what he was teaching, and hoping it was not the same lesson she had been through 3 times that morning, Sara choose the back right corner of the room to set up camp, near the windows. Maybe then she wouldn't spend so much time looking out into the hallway wondering if interesting people would walk on by. Thankfully Dan Thayer started with a different lesson in the period following lunch and Sara soon found herself immersed in her observation- noting his teaching style, the methods he was using and the student's reactions to the lesson.

When he gave the students a chance to write down a few personal thoughts on the poem they had just begun to deconstruct, Sara thought she could hear someone singing. She tilted her head to the side and listened to the swish of pencil leads scraping across paper, the bold, loud strikeout of an idea rejected and the crumpling of paper of perfectionists who couldn't see this as a process. But then, faintly, the singing was back but it wasn't coming from someone in the room. Sara studied Dan intently for a few moments but he didn't seem to hear the singing so she doubted the music was coming from the hallway. Intrigued, Sara looked out the window but saw no one out there either, although it did seem like the singing was coming from outside. It was muffled though; as the windows were closed but Sara was sure someone was singing.

_If you need somebody, call my name  
If you want someone, you can do the same  
If you want to keep something precious  
You got to lock it up and throw away the key  
If you want to hold onto your possession  
Don't even think about me_

_If you love somebody, set them free_

The bell rang again, abruptly ending Sara's peaceful serenade from outside. She wanted to open the window and hear it more clearly, or better yet dash from the room and out the side exit of the school and find who was singing but she figured they were long gone by now- another student shuffling off to class. Sara was not even sure it was someone singing. It might have been someone listening to that song on their laptop, ipod, phone or almost any other media device.

When final period began, Sara was surprised to find another new lesson and it was a topic she knew she would enjoy-Shakespeare's As You Like It. She had read it numerous times, performed it once and used a monologue from it for her audition for this years' UT winter drama production which made her think of the script still in her bag that she hadn't even glanced at yet. Although Sara found Dan's methods dated and stale, she enjoyed the lesson and time quickly flew and before she knew it the end of the day bell was ringing.

As Sara was gathering her things together and thanking Dan Thayer for a wonderful first day, Will Shuester popped his head into the classroom. "Hey Sara" he called, "we'll be meeting in the choir room in about 20- feel free to go on down, snoop around and get a feel for the place. It should be pretty quiet for about 15 minutes or so before they start to trickle in. I'm just going to go run off some sheet music for today" he explained before he left almost as quickly as he came.

Sara slid the ear buds of her earphones into her ears, plugged them into her phone which she slipped into the pocket of her skirt, found her ultimate 80s playlist and made her way to the choir room. Will was right, she was the first to arrive and that left her feeling a little deflated because she thought just maybe, maybe- but she shook her head to clear her thoughts. She was immediately pulled to the display case and the trophies. There were also pictures, a small group of kids in matching outfits, happy and hugging and obviously congratulating each other. There were some candid shots of people in the choir room also, although these were not framed like some of the other ones.

Suddenly an all too familiar song began to fill her ears and Sara's lips curled into a smile and her eyes fluttered shut. She pulled the headphones out of the jack allowing the music to fill the space around her, adjusted her stance and put her hands palms flat against the cool flat glass above her head. She slowly tapped her left foot to the beat and began to sing along.

_Kyrie eleison_

_Kyrie eleison_

_Kyrie_

When the synthesizers began Sara started to rock her hips back and forth.

_The wind blows hard against this mountain side_

_Across the sea into my soul_

_It reaches into where I cannot hide_

_Setting my feet upon the road_

Sara turned around, spied the drum kit near her and prepared her air drum sticks so she was ready to go. She closed her eyes again and lost herself in the music.

_My heart is old, it holds my memories_

_My body burns a gemlike flame_

_Somewhere between the soul and soft machine_

_Is where I find myself again__  
_

_Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel_

_Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night_

_Kyrie eleison, where I'm going, will you follow?_

_Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light_

Sara's eyes snapped open as she tossed the imaginary sticks into a fantasy crowd

and jumped up onto the center of the risers with a now imaginary microphone in her hand.

_When I was young I thought of growing old_

_Of what my life would mean to me_

_Would I have followed down my chosen road_

_Or only wished what I could be_

Sara threw her head back and closed her eyes to continue

_Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel_

_Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night_

_Kyrie eleison, where I'm going, will you follow?_

_Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light_

Sara turned her arms out, with her palms facing forward and began to raise them to the ceiling, her head back, eyes still mostly closed.

_Oh, Oh, Oh,_

Sara turned a ¼ turn to her left, and this time began to lower her arms.

_Oh, Oh, Oh,_

Another ¼ turn left, this time raising her arms.

_Oh, Oh, Oh_

A final ¼ turn left, lowering her arms.

_Oh, Oh, Oh_

Sara was about to jump down off the risers and start clapping her hands above her head to the beat when she suddenly head actual drums playing along with music coming from her phone. Her eyes snapped open, her face immediately flushed a deep crimson, her heart was beating so wildly in her chest it echoed in her ears drowning out the music from her phone, the drums and the drummer's voice as he harmonized. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of burning copper and bile rose in her throat. She ran to the nearest trash can and vomited over and over. Tears streamed down her face, part from embarrassment, part from the exertion of vomiting, mixing with the sweat from her brow.

Sara wiped at her eyes with the back of her arm, her eyes stinging from the saltiness of her sweat. The burning copper smell had been replaced with something more pleasant; ivory soap mixed with bounce laundry sheets and a faint whiff of grape slushie. Her heart was no longer beating in her ears and she heard a soft soothing voice "Are you going to be alright? You're going to be all right." And Sara could feel the warmth of a large hand lightly stroking and rubbing circles into her back. Sara turned her face and found herself staring into the warmest eyes she had ever seen, a light brown bordering on hazel with the tiniest of golden flecks like thousands of tiny grains of sand.

"Here" he whispered as he a brought a Kleenex to Sara's mouth and gently wiped anything remaining away. His touch was gentle and soft and Sara could see that same arm fur up close just before her eyes fluttered closed again. "Let's move you over to a chair now" Finn said after he had thrown out the Kleenex he had just used to wipe her mouth. When he wasn't whispering, his voice lost its raspiness and instead was as smooth as her favorite peanut butter and as warm as his eyes. He pulled a chair off the stacks against the wall and put it near the centre of the risers. "Will you need the can again or can I go get rid of it?" he asked after he had seated her in a chair.

Sara could only nod which led Finn to look at her quizzically, almost panicky.

"You need the trash can?" he asked about to turn on his heel and grab it from the corner by the door.

"No" Sara whispered her voice hoarse. "No, I won't need it. Yes, please take it away" she explained and Finn nodded before he left with the offending trash can.

Sara hung her head in her hands in embarrassment. She really didn't feel comfortable singing in front of people alone, and definitely not in front of students. For Sara, singing was something so completely vulnerable, it just didn't seem right to put herself in that situation in front of students. And then there was the fact that it happened in front of that drummer who had managed to rattle her insides in their very first meeting only an hour after entering the halls of McKinley. The cherry on the top of this of course would be that Sara then vomited in front of him. Sara felt herself chuckling at the sheer ridiculousness of it all when she heard the squeaks of wet runners on the floor as Finn returned carrying a bottle of some sort.

"I brought you a water bottle from the football team. I wouldn't put the end in your mouth" Finn said as he made a nasty face, "just squeeze the bottle and catch the water in your mouth like this" he demonstrated before handing the bottle to Sara.

After she had taken a couple of gulps Sara looked over to Finn who was now sitting backwards resting his head on his forearms and his forearms on the back of another chair near her. "Thanks for this," she lowered her voice "and that…" she motioned toward the door he had disappeared out of with the trash can.

"Do you always puke after singing?" Finn asked. "Will we need to get a puke bucket for you in here" he teased.

"Only when I sing in front of people" Sara chuckled.

Not sure if she was being serious or not, Finn raised an eyebrow "so is that a yes or a no on the puke bucket?" he questioned.

"I don't really feel comfortable singing in front of other people" Sara explained.

"You picked entirely the wrong room for a vocal performance and air drum solo then" Finn replied.

"You just startled me" Sara explained. "I wasn't expecting anyone…" she trailed off as a group of students noisily entered the room.

Finn immediately pushed himself on his chair away from her, lifted his body from the chair, spun it around and offered it to one of the Cheerios that had just entered the room.

"Thanks Finn" the blonde said as she sat down and crossed one leg over the other. Finn proceeded to help get chairs down for the rest of the group as they straggled in. Sara watched as they entered and formed their own little groups around the room but they mostly avoided her like she was invisible yet she was in the centre of the room. Sara expected Finn to take a seat behind the drums but instead he flitted from group to group like a hummingbird from flower to flower, stopping to high five or fist pump the other guys in the group.

_****Author's note: I write because I like to, but I put it here hoping others will read and respond. Just sayin' :)**_

**_If You Love Somebody Set Them Free is by Sting. _**

**_Kyrie is by Mr. Mister._**


	4. Chapter 4

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. Additional footnotes about songs and quotes at the end of the chapter.**

**Is there anyone at all reading? *crickets* ~GC**

Chapter 4- The Role You Were Born to Play

When Will Shuester walked into the room and commanded his groups attention with a "Ok guys…today's agenda is introductions" Sara watched Finn walk towards the front of the class, take some papers from Mr Shue and began to hand them out. Will Shuester than turned and wrote the word "Introductions" on the white board behind him and then in smaller letters Sara was surprised when he wrote "Miss Walsh". Then he pulled out two stools from behind the piano and motioned for her to come join him. "Now since Miss Walsh already introduced herself a little this morning and I don't want her to feel too overwhelmed," Mr Shue began, "how about if you guys tell her a little bit about yourselves. Your name, how long you've been in New Directions and something else about yourself."

The tallest of the two cheereleaders stood up "Mr Shue" she began, "first we'd like to sing a song"

Will Shuester clapped his hands together "I thought you might" he added as he got up and moved his stool away. Sara got up to do the same but Mr Shue motioned her to sit back down. Sara looked around and noticed that Finn was suddenly sitting on a stool next to her as well but was making no effort to get up like Will Shuester had.

Suddenly Sara noticed the Jazz band and the man at the piano. The blonde Cheerio began singing, with each line another student would stand up and join her:

_You say "Yes", I say "No"._

_You say "Stop" and I say "Go, go, go"._  
_Oh no._  
_You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello"._  
_I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello"._  
_I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello._  
_I say "High", you say "Low"._  
_You say "Why?" And I say "I don't know"._  
_Oh no._  
_You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello"._  
_I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello"._  
_(Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.)_

The Glee club members walked over and began walking a circle around Sara's stool and Finn stood up, pushed his stool away and began to sing with the group, all of them looking a Sara with such intensity she felt they could see right through her like an old overhead transparency. _  
_

_I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello".__  
__(Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.)__  
__Why, why, why, why, why, why, do you__  
__Say "Goodbye, goodbye, bye, bye".__  
__Oh no.__  
__You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".__  
__I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".__  
__I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello"._

_You say "Yes", I say "No".__  
__(I say "Yes", but I may mean "No").__  
_

Finn grabbed Sara by the hands and pulled her off her stool, pulling her in behind him, holding her hands on his hips as he led the group in a crazy follow the leader around the room. Sara thought she felt a spark as his large hands captured hers, but it was surely just static electricity from the wool skirt she was wearing. Finn's much larger and warmer hands held her petite ones hostage against his denim clad hips and Sara had the sensation that her hands were ablaze.

_You say "Stop", I say "Go, go, go".__  
__(I can stay still it's time to go).__  
__Oh, oh no.__  
__You say "Goodbye" and I say "Hello, hello, hello".__  
__I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".__  
__I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello, hello, hello".__  
__I don't know why you say "Goodbye", I say "Hello-wow, oh. Hello".__  
__Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.__  
__Hela, heba, helloa. (Hela.) Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa.__  
__Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa. Hela, heba, helloa._

When the song ended, Will Shuester was on his feet applauding, and Sara Walsh was amazed as she clapped her hands together for the students of the New Directions. Her hands still feeling warm from being held hostage by Finn, stung as she clapped in appreciation. She was astounded by the talent of the members of the club. She felt flush again but this time from exhilaration and the excitement in the room. Sara felt she would really enjoy her time with the New Directions.

"Now that was a great introduction guys" Mr Shue said as pulled his stool back over near where Sara's had been left. Finn put his right hand on the small of her back and guided her back to her stool as well as he joined her and Mr Shue at the front of the room. Sara was confused as to why Finn was always at the front. "Brittany", Mr Shue motioned to the blonde cheerleader who had started the song, "as co-caption of the New Directions why don't you start us of" he suggested. Sara dug in her bag for her notebook and a pen and flipped it open to a new page.

The blonde Cheerio stood up, "I'm Brittany, I've been in the New Directions for about 3 years. I like Sam" she said as she grabbed the hand of the blonde teen beside her "but I miss Santana" she finished.

"I'm Sam, I've been in the New Directions on and off for about 2 years. I like Brittany" he said with a wink to the cheerleader beside him, "but I also like sports, especially football."

The young man in the wheelchair rolled forward a bit, "I'm Artie. I've been with the New Directions for as long as Mr Shue has over 3 years now. I like to be in control. I want to direct the musical this year" he responded.

The petite Asian brunette stood up next, "I'm Tina and I've been here since the beginning with Mr Shue and Artie. And I like to sing."

A tall young man with dreadlocks was the next to stand, I'm Joe. I've been with the New Directions for almost a year and I like God."

Another female brunette was next, "I'm Marley, I've just joined the New Directions this year and I like Glee club."

The young man sitting beside her rose next. "I'm Ryder, I'm also new to Glee Club and I like it here."

The other blonde cheerio was the next to get up, "I'm Kitty, I'm new to Glee Club. I like to sing and I like being a Cheerio."

Then the young man sitting alongside her introduced himself, "I'm Jake, I'm new and I don't like much."

There were two young men left sitting in front of Sara plus Finn so Sara figured since Brittany was a co-captain, Finn must be the other and that was why he seemed to always be front and centre. The first of the two young men in the front stood and introduced himself, "I'm Wade and I am new to Glee Club. I like to perform and I rather be "Unique"- that's my alter ego" he added as explanation.

The young man in the bowtie stood up after that and introduced himself, "I'm Blaine, I've been with the New Directions going on 2 years now although it feels longer. I'm co-captain with Brittany and I like to perform. I like being here."

"Thanks everyone" Will said as Blaine finished his introduction. "Miss Walsh- I can always…" Mr Shue began before he was interrupted by the rousing chants of "Finn! Finn! Finn!" from the other students. "My bad" Will Shuester lamented before motioning for Finn to continue.

Sara shifted her body slightly to allow a better look at the young man beside her. He leaned forward positioning himself more in her line of sight. His warm voice sent a shiver through her. "I'm Finn and technically I'm no longer a member of the New Directions. Mr Shue brought me to the Glee Club in the beginning and has been an amazing inspiration to me. But since I have nothing better to do right now, I've come back, to get my drum on and hopefully I can help Mr Shue and these guys win another National Championship- Yeah" Finn exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air and almost fell off his stool.

"Yeah" cheered the rest of the New Directions in response to Finn.

Sara suddenly saw that he was the leader of this group even if he had no fancy title. She didn't quite understand why he wasn't a member of the New Directions any longer though. As if reading her thoughts, Will Shuester interjected "Finn is like my co-director this year. He was a real leader in here the three years that New Directions was lucky to have him and we're happy he's here in any way." Will Shuester reached his hand overtop Sara's head and high fived Finn.

"As you can see by the music Finn passed out earlier, I have come up with a group number for our theme this week" Will Shuester began his lesson in earnest. "Our theme is 'the role you were born to play' and I figured with a large number of seniors among us again this year, and with our win at Nationals last year, Queen's 'I Want it All' would be perfect. This song is about being ambitious and fighting for your goals. And winning Nationals last year means nothing, except that we need to work that much harder to bring the trophy back home again," Mr Shue explained.

Sara nodded at Will's analysis. She loved Queen- they were very big during the 80s and Sara's music of choice was almost always 80's rock. She took a sheet of the music from the piano behind her as the rest of the group gathered around the piano to begin rehearsing the song together. She ended up across the piano from Finn Hudson and she caught him looking at her with a raised eyebrow when she joined in on the chorus. She couldn't help it though- it was infectious.

Hello,Goodbye is by The Beatles.

And I Want it All (although not quoted) is by Queen.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. Additional foot notes at the end about songs, quotes used in the chapter. **

**Chapter 5- Finn-speration**

As Sara walked into McKinley High on her second day she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the trophy cases near the teachers' lounge. She had remembered her mental note from yesterday and picked something more colorful and cheerful than the muted greys and blacks of yesterday but her a-line long denim skirt, shapeless but soft pale pink angora sweater, her trusty black boots, her gold hoops and watch and her hair back in that severe bun aged her a good 10 years.

She had toyed with the idea of putting her contacts in but decided against it and threw her glasses back on instead.

Sara popped her head into the rambunctious choir room on her way to class and said good morning to the students hanging out in there. Some were singing the group song, some were singing different songs, and others were just sitting around talking. Sara noticed however, that Finn was one of the students not there. "Good morning Miss Walsh- you just missed Mr Shue," Artie said as he wheeled in her direction. "Will you be singing a song for us from this weeks' theme?" he asked. Sara paled and she could feel the acidy taste of bile burning her esophagus as she choked out "I don't think so."

"He's just teasing you, you know" Blaine, the co-captain said. "What did you think of our numbers yesterday?" he asked. "Do you have any performance ideas for the group number? Costume ideas, lighting, dancing?" Blaine pressed.

"The numbers were great" Sara began with a smile, "and I have some ideas but I want to talk to Mr Shue first and get a feel for what you normally do and what is available for I discuss any of them."

"Great," Blaine replied, "I look forward to your input."

"See you guys later" Sara waved as she continued on to her class.

"Wait, Miss Walsh" Sara heard a voice from behind her calling. She turned to see Jake, the young man who did not like much, jogging to catch up to her. "Do you sit in on all of Mr Thayer's classes?" he asked, as he joined her and they continued walking.

"Yes I do" Sara responded. "Why do you ask Jake?"

"I'm in his first period class but I skipped yesterday" Jake admitted. "I guess I can't really do that anymore unless I plan on skipping Glee too but then I won't have any time to hang out with Marley" he continued. "If I promise not to skip Thayer's class anymore while you are here, will you promise not to tell him or Mr Shue?" Jake asked. "Mr Shue might kick me out or something. He's big on us attending all our classes and getting decent grades- which is a pain but we do it because for the most part, New Directions is the best part of school for us."

"Since you're the only one of the Glee kids in any of my classes, how about I cut you a little break this once" Sara compromised. "But I will tell Mr. Thayer, Mr. Shue and Coach Bieste if I get wind of you skipping any more classes. Deal?" she asked.

"Would you be able to help me out- you know, get me an advance copy of the tests, quizzes, and write my papers" Jake asked.

Sara raised an eyebrow at Jake "Absolutely not, but if you ask nice enough I may help you study or help you proof your papers" she replied.

"It was worth a shot" Jake smirked as he shrugged his shoulders and they entered class.

The rest of Sara's morning was pretty uneventful and she skipped the cafeteria in favour of the brown bagged lunch she had brought with her and headed to the staff lunch room. She quickly spotted Will Shuester, Emma Pilsbury and Shannon Bieste at the same table they had all shared yesterday and she went over to join them again. "Is that seat taken" Sara nodded as she approached the group.

"Go ahead Sara" Will said, as he made a little more room for her at the table and snuggled up just a little closer to his fiancé.

"So what did you think of the New Directions, Sara?" Emma asked with a little note of pride in her voice for all her fiancé had done for the school's glee club.

"They are all so amazing. They sang 'Hello/Good bye' to me and then we started working on 'I Want it All'. The talent- it's just beyond words" Sara admitted.

Will Shuester smiled and nodded a light flush creeping into his face. He thought his group of kids were pretty special but he loved it when others could see that too.

"I don't want to hog all your lunch time Will, with New Directions stuff, but I was thinking about that group number for 'I Want it All' last night and I've got some ideas but I have no idea what the Glee Club has from props, costumes, lighting, stage, etcetera or if you will even do that with this number" Sara explained.

"Maybe we should rehearse in the auditorium today" Will suggested. "You'll get a chance to see what we have available to us then. I'll just need to clear it with Sue but since the weather has been so nice, she has been keeping her Cheerios outside for practice" he explained.

"Great" Sara exclaimed, "I'll be looking forward to the end of the day.'"

Sara spent most of the afternoon pretending to be observing Dan Thayers lessons and taking notes but really she was taking notes about the New Directions. She was noting what she would like to see done in the 'I Want it All' number and she had started her own 'wish list' that she would like to see the Glee club cover while she was around. And when she wasn't paying attention she would sometimes find she had jotted his name in her notes and then she would have to scratch it out and scribble over it so no one could possibly ever see. Sara didn't understand how this guy could make her feel like a girl with a silly high school crush except that obviously she was a girl and this was a high school crush and it was ridiculous and she had to put a stop to it.

Will Shuester stopped by Dan Thayer's class at the end of the day again, this time to bring Sara to the auditorium. "Well, this is it" Will said to Sara as he opened the doors and they stepped inside. Sara gasped as she drank it all in. It was much nicer than other high school auditoriums, in fact at first glance it was easily as nice as the one at UT but not half as much seating.

"Wow, Will this is amazing" Sara said as she quickly walked down the aisle and up onto the stage and twirled around on the stage for a moment or two. She could smell the dust burning off the stage lights and there was a faint hint of mothballs probably from costume storage. The stage floor was black and scuffed with millions of footprints and scratches of furniture and sets that had been dragged across it. Sara took to centre stage and closed her eyes briefly before opening them and loudly proclaiming:

_**"My only love sprung from my only hate!**_

_**Too early seen unknown, and known too late!**_

_**Prodigious birth of love it is to me,**_

_**That I must love a loathed enemy."**_

Will Shuester chuckled and applauded as the young woman on stage took a deep bow. "Sara, would you mind going and putting a couple of signs up on the choir room doors and then write on the white board inside that we are meeting here today" Will asked Sara.

Sara shook her head as she climbed off the stage and headed for the auditorium exit. "Not a problem Will, I'll be back soon."

As Sara approached the choir room she could hear the drums playing. She was sure it had to be Finn and that made her smile. She listened to see if she could tell what song he was playing but as she got closer Sara could also hear a recorded version of the song in the background complete with its original vocals.

**And I'm looking in the mirror all the time,**

**Wondering what she don't see in me**

**I've be cool, I've been funny with the lines**

**Ain't that the way love's supposed to be.**

When Sara arrived at the choir room door, she stopped to watch Finn wail on the drums along with the music. He wasn't singing though, but it was obvious he knew all the words.

**Tell me, where can I find a woman like that!**

**You know, I wish that I had Jesse's girl**

**I wish that I had Jesse's girl**

**I want Jesse's girl**

**Where can I find a woman like that**

**Like Jesse's girl**

**I wish that I had Jesse's girl**

**I want I want Jesse's girl**

"I've always loved that song" Sara said from the door way applauding.

"Wha- oh thanks" Finn replied as his voice broke as he reached over to turn off the cd player beside him. When he lifted his head to look at her, Sara saw his eyes glistening with tears and she fought the urge to go to him. A lone tear escaped and ran down his freckled cheek before he brought the back of arm up and wiped the wetness away from his eyes. "I guess I didn't think that song would make me get all misty" Finn offered by way of explanation. "I sang it once, when I was trying to get Rachel to realise that she should be with me and not ironically a guy named Jesse" Finn chuckled.

Sara wanted to ask who Rachel was but she was also afraid she didn't want to know the answer. Sara figured it was a question that would be answered soon enough. Of course he would have a girlfriend Sara, she thought to herself. Not that Sara thought he could be interested in her either.

"So was that payback for yesterday," Finn asked, "you standing there eavesdropping on my musical melancholy?"

"Uh" Sara stammered "no not really. Wi-Mr. Schue wanted me to come put some signs on the doors and write on the white board that we're practicing in that awesome auditorium you have here" she explained.

Finn nodded as he reached into his bag and took out a notebook and a black sharpie. "It's a pretty great auditorium huh?" he asked as he ripped two pages of paper out and wrote 'New Directions rehearsal in auditorium' on each sheet.

Sara walked to the write board and wrote the same message as she responded "It seems as nice as the one at UT but with about half the seating though."

Finn walked to the shelf and grabbed the tape dispenser and ripped off two pieces of tape. "So you call Mr Shue Will?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, when there are no students around I call him Will, he calls me Sara. It's no big deal, we're colleagues" Sara commented as she taped a sign to one of the choir doors.

"Can I call you Sara too, when students aren't around" Finn asked a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He taped the other sign up on the far door.

Sara looked at Finn sideways under her lashes as he strode up alongside her in the hall. "I'm not sure that is appropriate" she replied. "Do you call Mr Shue by his first name?" she inquired as they continued walking to the auditorium.

"Not usually" Finn admitted.

They walked in silence for a couple of steps before turning the corner and almost crashing with Blaine who was obviously headed for the choir room.

"Where are you two off to?" Blaine questioned.

"Hot make out session in the auditorium" Finn replied with a wink as Sara's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Oh I want to come make out in the auditorium too" Blaine exclaimed jumping up and down clapping his hands together like an excited child.

Finn wrapped his arm around Blaine's neck and pulled him in under his arm and made like he was going to ruffle Blaine's uber-gelled hair.

"Finn, don't" Blaine whimpered.

Finn chucked as he released the shorter boy. "Blaine you are such a goof!" he exclaimed as he pushed the auditorium door open with a deep, low, flourish indicating Sara and Blaine should enter first.

"Oh good, you found Finn. Afternoon Blaine" Mr Shue exclaimed as the threesome entered.

"Hopefully Brittany is with Sam" Finn said. "Or we may have to send out a search party" he snickered as Blaine tried to stifle a sudden case of the giggles.

Soon the whole New Directions group was assembled and sitting on the orchestra ledge in front of the stage. Sara had been busy poking around in the back looking at the costumes in storage and up in the lighting room looking at what type of system they were using. She quickly came down and hopped up on the ledge near the aisle. "We're here today so Miss Walsh can see all the tools we have at our disposal" Mr Shuester began. "We'll also practice our group number in here with a couple of suggestions from Miss Walsh. Wednesday and Thursday we'll be back in the choir room with the girls presenting Wednesday and the guys on Thursday plus group rehearsals both days and then Friday we'll come back here and wrap up our group number" he explained. "But first, Finn has come up with a song. Take it away Finn" and Mr Shue hopped up on the ledge at the end nearest the stage stairs, which was the opposite side of Sara.

Sara didn't understand why Finn was presenting his song now and not on Thursday with the rest of the guys. Maybe it was the co-director thing. But what made him that special to be co-director? Why wasn't he just a regular member or even one of the co-captains like Brittany and Blaine? There was more to this drummer, more to Finn than Sara knew obviously.

Finn walked over and handed his cell phone to Blaine who was sitting almost dead centre of the ledge. "Hey can you video this for me?" he asked. "And dude, try to stay on my face ok" he joked. Finn climbed up onto the stage and took centre stage. "I know the role I was born to play. I also know the role some others were born to play. And they don't always mesh. So sometimes, even though it is the last thing you want to do, and it changes your role, you do what is best for the other person. Especially when it is the person you love more than you love yourself" Finn explained.

_Free, free, set them free  
Free, free, set them free  
Free, free, set them free  
_

Sara couldn't believe it when Finn started his song. This was the song she had heard yesterday in Dan Thayer's classroom. This was the voice she had heard. It was Finn who was singing just outside the window.

_If you need somebody__  
Call my name  
If you want someone  
You can do the same  
If you want to keep something precious  
You got to lock it up and throw away the key  
If you want to hold onto your possession  
Don't even think about me_

_If you love somebody  
If you love someone  
If you love somebody  
If you love someone, set them free__  
Set them free  
Set them free  
Set them free  
_

Finn had been standing mostly just in the middle of the stage singing to his phone in Blaine's hands and making it easier on Blaine. But then he remembered they had a drama minor in their midst who would be giving them staging advice and so he figured he better start using more of the stage. So he started walking purposefully towards the end of the stage where Miss Walsh was. He sought out her eyes. She wore a confused look on her face. That confused Finn. Was he doing this all wrong?

_If it's a mirror you want  
Just look into my eyes  
Or a whipping boy  
Someone to despise  
Or a prisoner in the dark  
Tied up in chains you just can't see  
Or a beast in a gilded cage  
That's all some people ever want to be_

Frustrated that he was unable to read Miss Walsh's face at all, and because this song was meant to be a love song for Rachel, Fin strode back to the centre of the stage.

_If you love somebody  
If you love someone  
If you love somebody  
If you love someone, set them free__  
Set them free  
Set them free  
Set them free_

_You can't control an independent heart_  
_Can't tear the one you love apart_  
_Forever conditioned to believe that we can't live_  
_We can't live here and be happy with less_  
_So many riches_  
_So many souls_  
_With everything we see that we want to possess_

Not wanting to leave the other end of the stage unused, Finn walked down that way and comforted by the fact that at least his mentor Will Shuester seemed to get what he was trying to do.

_If you need somebody  
Call my name  
If you want someone  
You can do the same  
If you want to keep something precious  
You got to lock it up and throw away the key  
You want to hold onto your possession  
Don't even think about me_

_If you love somebody_  
_If you love someone_  
_If you love somebody_  
_If you love someone, set them free_

_Set them free  
Set them free  
Set them free  
Set them free_

When Finn had finished singing the rest of the New Directions group was clapping and cat calling for him. They were obviously impressed. Sara was too- he had a voice that at times was as smooth as honey, at other times he was able to make it angsty-raspy and together, it just worked for him. It worked for the song he had choosen. And then there was his stage presence. He wasn't much of a dancer, and it didn't seem that he had prepared a "show" but he commanded the stage in a very real way. When he walked down to her end of the stage, the look he gave her bore into Sara so deeply she wondered if it was possible to get pregnant from an eye fuck.

Sara Walsh was losing it. To her, Finn Hudson was sex on a stick and she wanted him. It was all kinds of wrong. He was some weird cross of man and boy. He left Sara feeling like a cross between being a girl and a woman. And then there was the Rachel she was afraid to ask about. Sara had no idea how she was going to get through her time at McKinley and with the New Directions.

****A/N: **

**The quote from the stage is from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.**

**Jesse's Girl is by Rick Springfield.**

**If You Love Somebody Set Them Free is by Sting.**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

****A/N some mild language this chapter**

Chapter 6- Drowning

Sara somehow pulled herself together and made it through the rest of the rehearsal without incident. She even managed to overcome the puddle of goo she had almost become. When they started working on the group number, she started sharing some of her ideas. Everyone was on board with most of what she shared. She was showing them steps and grouping people at different spots on the stage and showing them her ideas for lighting. They talked about costumes and decided to keep it simple just dark denim with white tees and open black sweaters or jackets. She didn't want to overwhelm them in her first week. Blaine and Brittany were especially receptive to her staging and grouping and the two of them had come up with some killer dance steps that they managed to weave into the song. It didn't take long to kill over an hour at rehearsal. Will had asked her to stay for a moment to look at schedules and plan a couple of meetings.

Sara was putting her things together and jotting down a couple more ideas, waiting for the kids to disperse. When only she and Finn were remaining, they joined Will Shuester in the middle of the auditorium at a table that was set up.

"Ok, Sara, Finn, we need to meet and talk about themes for next week and ideas for sectionals set list. I can meet Thursday or Friday morning or Thursday after rehearsal. And Sara, we should meet as well and go over your impressions so far" Will explained. Sara was a little concerned that Will was using her first name in front of a student but she didn't want to say anything about it in front of Finn either so she let it slide for the moment.

"Thursday afternoon works best for me Mr Shue" Finn said.

"I can do Thursday afternoon too" Sara agreed.

"Finn, it's ok for you to call me Will when it's us" Shuester explained.

"I'll try to remember that Will" Finn said as he lifted an eyebrow and looked at Sara.

"And I can meet you Thursday morning if that still works Will" Sara said.

"That sounds great. Thanks, both of you. Have a good night, see you tomorrow after school" Will said as he headed for the door.

"So, Miss Walsh" Finn began when the door closed behind Will Shuester, "what happened yesterday at lunch"' he asked.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about Finn" Sara replied as they left the auditorium.

"I'm talking about you and me, having lunch" Finn said. "I was standing outside of Thayer's classroom and you were staring out into the hallway. It looked like you were looking right at me. I mimed eating, I held up both hands because the lunch bell was about 10 minutes away, and I nodded my head towards the exit by his class. You had this funny little smile and looked down, I thought that meant yes" he explained as they walked the empty hallways of the school.

"Wait- that was directed at me" Sara asked "I thought you were trying to get someone else's attention and I felt kind of guilty trespassing on your invitation" she said. "Why did you want to meet me for lunch?" she asked. She noticed Finn must have been working hard in the auditorium, his shirt was damp in a few places and there was still a little sweat glistening at his hairline. In close proximity to Finn now, Sara's nose was filled with a sweet muskiness that she couldn't identify but it was intoxicating nonetheless.

"I thought you might not have anyone to eat with your first day. I thought I might be able to give you the skinny on the New Directions. You know like Brittany. She is a fabulous dancer- the best really. And so sweet and usually uber-enthusiastic, but she is not the brightest light in the box" Finn said.

"Well, I'm very sorry I missed our lunch. I don't know if the invitation was appropriate but I appreciate the offer for the info on the group. Maybe we can do it another time" Sara suggested. "But can I ask you a question about you?" she queried. When Finn nodded she continued "Why are you co-director and not a member or even a co-captain of the New Directions? You seem an obvious choice for co- or even just captain alone" Sara said.

"Well thanks for your vote- I was co captain when I was an actual member. But you have to be a student to be member of the Glee club" Finn replied. Then he turned to walk down the next hallway and left Sara standing there with a shocked look on her face. "See you tomorrow Miss Walsh" he called back from halfway down the hall.

When Sara got home she was still trying to digest that last bit of info Finn had given her- he wasn't a student. It made no sense. It seemed like Finn was at McKinley all the time. Shuester had told Thayer that 'Hudson' was upgrading some classes. Sara had assumed 'Hudson' was Finn's last name. He didn't seem old enough to be a teacher and as far as Sara knew, she was the only student teacher at McKinley at the moment. Sara shook her head trying to make sense of it all.

"I'm home Aunt Emily" Sara called out as she entered the house. Her Aunt came out from the kitchen wiping her hands on an apron.

"Hello dear, how was your second day?" Emily Murphy asked her neice.

"It was really good actually. The glee club kids took almost all of my suggestions and ran with them. It was so much fun. And they just such a talented bunch" Sara commented.

"I remember reading an article in the paper about them last year. Won some big contest, must be pretty good. And then after the contest the leaders or something were going to get married. And she was texting and driving, poor thing, and she was hit by a car or a train or something" Emily rattled on.

"Oh my God" Sara exclaimed. "What happened?"

"I think she died dear, but I'm not really sure it said" Sara's aunt confessed.

"I need a swim before dinner" Sara announced as she headed to her room to change, grateful for the warm fall weather.

"The pool boy is just finishing up" Emily said, "nice boy, his name is Noah, you should go introduce yourself."

Sara slid out of her boots and searched for her flip flops. Then she took off her skirt and sweater and placed them in the hamper. She took her favorite swimming suit out of the top drawer of her dresser and slipped into it. It was a funky black and white print with high cut legs, cut outs on the side and a racer back so she didn't have to worry about straps slipping while she was diving and swimming laps in the pool. Sara removed her earings and watch before unwinding her bun and quickly fixing her hair into a messy braid. She put a touch of zink on her nose and then lathered her lips in a spf chapstick. Then Sara traded her glasses for her contacts and her swim goggles around her neck before padding out to the pool.

The pool boy was still working when Sara arrived on the patio. She looked him over and decided to not introduce herself to Noah. He was wearing board shorts and a wife beater tank. He had on dark shades and no hat. His head was mostly shaved save a black mow hawk.

"Perfect timing" Noah the pool boy exclaimed as Sara walked out on the deck.

"I'm all done" he said as he looked up. He was shocked someone was actually swimming in the pool. He'd been cleaning old lady Murphy's pool for almost 4 years now and he thought the last 2 weeks was the first time it had really been used. He was pretty sure it wasn't Ms. Murphy and rumour was she had a young niece now staying with her. When Noah looked up, he could see old lady Murphy definitely had a hot, young something staying with her.

Sara climbed up on the diving board and walked to the end. Sara pulled the goggles around her neck up to her eyes. She inhaled deeply and let the smell of the fresh chlorine fill her nostrils before she flexed the board twice and dived off the end. Sara dove deep and long, almost all the way to the bottom of the pool and then began counting the number of strokes until she had to surface for air. Her personal best was 8, almost ¾ the length of her aunt's pool.

Noah 'Puck' Puckerman hadn't meant to stare, but it was hard for him to peel his eyes off her fine form as she bounced on that damn board and then hit the water. He waited for her to surface and when she didn't seem to be surfacing he went into panic mode. Puck threw his sunglasses off, ripped his shirt off over his head and slipped out of his sandals before diving into old lady Murphy's pool. When he dived into the water he quickly found her and he swam to her, threw an arm around her and began to pull her towards the surface. Then she started attacking him. The girl was crazy. She was all limbs flailing against him and as a last resort, she even bit him.

"Damn bitch, what was that for" Puck exclaimed as he broke the surface of the water.

"Dude, what the fuck do you think you were doing" Sara spat as she sputtered to the surface.

"I thought you were drowning. I was rescuing you. You weren't surfacing" Puck exclaimed.

"I can swim almost ¾ the length of this pool in one dive" Sara retorted hotly. "I was trying to beat my record" she said as Puck swam over to the edge of the pool.

"How was I supposed to know" Puck asked.

"What were you even still doing here" Sara replied.

"Well, you're welcome anyway" Puck said as he hoisted himself out of the pool. Sara felt a little twinge as she watched the wet muscles of his arms glisten in the afternoon sun.

"Thank you" Sara said sheepishly before she dove under the water again from her spot in the pool. When she surfaced again, Noah Puckerman was gone.

Puck sat in his truck and picked up his phone. He scrolled through his contact list until he found the person he was looking for and then starts texting.

**Wingman: dude u won't believe what just happened to me**

**Maverick: what**

**Wingman: u remember old lady Murphy right and her pool like no one ever swims in except when she is out of town and I use it for hooking up with the ladies**

**Maverick: yeah what about it**

**Wingman: well old lady Murphy has some hot young thing staying with her and she dove in the pool right after I finished cleaning it**

**Maverick: ok so what is the unbelievable part someone is using the pool or that a pretty girl is staying with old lady Murphy**

**Wingman: dude story not finished yet**

**Wingman: so it seems like forever and she hasn't come up so I dive in after her to safe her damn life and she starts trashing against me and then the crazy girl up and bit me**

**Maverick: was she drowning**

**Wingman: turns out no she must be part fish or something dude**

**Maverick: you think old lady Murphy is going to can you**

**Wingman: hope not I want to see the hottie again turn on the puck magic and see what happens remember when we were in kindergarten and we'd hit and kick and hurt the girls we secretly liked**

**Maverick: yeah so**

**Wingman: so maybe her fighting me, biting me in the pool was her way of saying she digs me too**

**Maverick: I don't know well maybe yeah maybe its like when Rachel is all mad at me for something and her eyes are all dark and her brows furrowed and her arms tightly folded over her boobs and all I can think of is how hot she is so I smile and lean in and kiss her those kisses are like fireworks**

**Wingman: dude tmi but yeah that's what I mean then hottie could be into me and if she can hold her breath for that long…**

**Maverick: Puck ur nasty**

**Wingman: anyhow dude how are you whats really going on with you and berry now**

**Maverick: she still has my ring but shes not wearing it so we r still together but not engaged I guess and we r not really together when she is there and I am here but we talk all the time and Im going up this weekend and she is coming home in a couple of weeks and im planning a big party…well Ive got Blaine planning the party cause Kurt is going to come home too. I thought I might try to ask everyone to come home that weekend and maybe we could all make some noise and have some fun.**

**Wingman: so you and berry still hot 4 each other got it**

**Maverick: well yeah just sucks that shes not here or Im not there**

**Wingman: so what are you doing here why are you not there with her**

**Maverick: I don't know it feels weird there you know not having anything to do and Rachael is all excited and working so hard all the time that even when she is with me I feel like I am taking time away from something else she should be doing Burts letting me work at the shop here for some cash and I'm helping mr shue with the new directions and coach bieste with football and I just started two classes at LCC so maybe I can get into a school in nyc one of these days**

**Wingman: any new hotties at McKinley should I be trolling the halls too**

**Maverick: I don't know dude I don't scope out the landscape like you**

**Wingman: what about with new directions any cute new chicks**

**Maverick: they just all seem so young man but mr shue has some help right now a new student teacher from UT not really into glee club but shes some sort of drama student so shes helping us out some great ideas really exciting to work with I caught her singing in the choir room yesterday and when she saw me she threw up.**

**Wingman: gross**

**Maverick: I know right but apparently she has stage fright about singing but not about being on stage oh and a stick in the mud too mr shue said I could call him Will when the kids aren't around and he calls her Sara then too she calls him Will but she won't let me call her Sara and she treats me like just another kid and I tried to have lunch with her and give her the skinny on the new directions and she totally blew me off its so stupid**

**Wingman: sounds like shes got you all bothered man**

**Maverick: yeah it does bother me we're kind of like equals you know and shes on some power trip making me call her miss walsh while she calls me Finn**

**Wingman: no dude I mean shes got you all b-o-t-h-e-r-e-d hot and bothered**

**Maverick: ewww shes like 30**

**Wingman: a 30 year old student teacher really**

**Maverick: well I don't know how old she is but she wears glasses like your nana and pulls all her hair back tightly on her head in a twisted something or other with about a dozen pins in it**

**Wingman: so nothing hot about her at all**

**Maverick: I don't think so maybe she could be really fun to be around but she's seriously got something up her butt most of the time maybe if she'd let her hair down and had some fun she might be cute-ish**

Before Puck could type his response there was a rap at his truck windsow.

"Noah dear, are you alright" Emily Murphy asked. "You've just been sitting out here for almost an hour, won't your truck start."

"Yeah sorry about that Miss Murphy" Puck replied. "I've just been texting with a friend. I'll be on my way now."

"See you Friday Noah," Emily said as she stared to leave. "Did you happen to meet my niece?" she asked.

"Yeah I did" Puck said, smiling as the scene from the pool played in his head again. "She's cute."

"Oh, I'll be sure to tell her you said so" Emily said as she hurried up her drive.

**Wingman: dude I gotta go cause old lady Murphy just caught me hanging out in front of her house but if you ask me sounds to me like the drama queen needs something and if berry is in nyc and you are here and have nothing better to do…. and with that thought Im out**

**Maverick: nasty Puck just nasty catch ya later**

****A/N**

**in case you didn't quite catch it- obviously Maverick and Wingman are nicknames if you will that Puck and Finn use for each other and on their phones. Maverick being Finn and Puck being Wingman. If you are wondering why Puck would be the Wingman and Finn would be Maverick...I don't know. **


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. **

Chapter 7- Fashion Advice

Sara spent Wednesday lunchtime having lunch with Dan Thayer. They were going over some of her observations and she was pleading with him to allow her to teach a lesson to the class studying As You Like It. He agreed that she could have a lesson next week as long as she had everything submitted to him for his approval beforehand. Sara was ecstatic. They decided they would take Wednesday lunchtimes to have their meetings from now on as it seemed to work well for both of them. Sara took a quick break after their meeting to poke her head into the auditorium lighting room and play with a couple of adjustments she had thought of the night before. She made a few notes in her book and then hurried back to class.

Wednesday afternoon Sara left Dan Thayer's classroom and went to the library to begin working on her lesson plan before the glee club meeting but she couldn't concentrate on her lesson. Instead Sara found herself thinking about her encounter with the pool boy. It was kind of rude that he stayed around and watched her, but it was comforting that he dived in thinking she needed help even if she didn't. She had been so surprised when his strong arm wrapped around her that her instincts kicked in and she started thrashing. But he just wouldn't let go and so she had bit his arm. And she hadn't even apologized. Sara did feel bad about that. And then there were those arms-she probably wouldn't even have noticed except for the way the warm afternoon sun made the water on his skin glisten. She didn't really get a good look at the rest of him and Lord knows that hairstyle of his was ridiculous but it did somehow suit him Sara thought.

Sara was so involved in her daydream that she was almost late for the glee club meeting. She walked in and took a seat next to Will Shuester and took out a notepad. Sara took a quick glance around and noticed Finn was on the opposite end of the room, settled behind the drums again. He gave her a nod when he noticed her looking at him. Sitting on the opposite side of the room, Sara was able to not think about Finn too much and concentrate on the girls' performances.

Finn Hudson on the other hand was thinking about his text conversation with Puck from the night before. Even though the girls in the New Directions were talented, Finn was mostly unable to concentrate on their performances. He studied Sara Walsh as she sat across the room from him. Her hair was again pulled tightly back in that same twisted style as she had been wearing since she started at McKinley at the start of the week. Today Sara was wearing a white blouse with short sleeves. She had the blouse buttoned up all the way to the top and overtop the blouse Sara was wearing a bulky red sweater vest. It was unfortunate, Finn thought, because the blouse was probably more fitted than the vest and Finn could tell from the sleeves that the blouse was made of a thin material. Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat and took a couple of deep breaths. Today Sara was wearing another long skirt, this time it was black with a bold red flower print on it and she had her black boots on again. The way she had her legs crossed, Finn could see the boots go up part of her leg, but then the skirt got in the way. Finn wondered how high the boots were. Maybe she could be hot- maybe she just had no idea how to dress. Maybe Finn should introduce Sara to his brother Kurt and let them go shopping. Perhaps then- Finn's thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating against his leg. He pulled it out thinking it might be a text from Rachel but instead it was a text from Blaine.

**Blaine: It's not polite to stare Finn.**

**Finn: Im not staring at you Blaine**

**Blaine: Of course not, but you are staring at Miss Walsh.**

**Finn: do you think she could be pretty if she dressed better**

**Blaine: What?**

**Finn: I mean if she didn't dress like a little girl playing dress up in her grandmas clothes do you think she would be pretty**

**Blaine: You are asking ME if she would be pretty?**

**Finn: I mean imagine if she was wearing something like what Tina is wearing today and let down her hair and maybe got rid of those glasses.**

"Finn, Blaine" Mr Shuester interrupted after Tina finished her solo. "Please say good bye to Kurt and Rachel and place your phones on the piano until the end of the meeting. It is not respectful of you to be texting your significant others while your fellow glee mates perform."

When the girls had finished performing, Mr Shue thanked everyone and reminded the guys to bring their best the next day. Sara and Will were discussing their favorite and least favorite of the performances as the students shuffled out of the choir room. Finn grabbed his phone off the piano and jogged off calling out to Blaine as he left the room.

"Blaine, wait up" Finn called as he jogged out into the hall and joined him. "So what do you think?"

"About the performances" Blaine asked.

"No," Finn shook his head, "what we were texting about. Miss Walsh."

"Oh yeah, that" Blaine replied. "I guess you might have a point but why?"

"I don't know" Finn said. "She just seems like she is trying too hard to be someone she really isn't"

"Well glee club is a good way to get over that" Blaine admitted.

"Yeah I guess it is" Finn said.

Thursday morning Sara met Will Shuester early in the choir room.

"So Sara?" he asked "How has it been so far?"

"This is a great group Will" Sara responded. "Lots of talent and they mostly all seem to get along really well."

"They are good kids Sara" Will began. "Some of them are a little lost, some of them need a little guidance, but they mostly just all need a little acceptance"

"Can you give me a for example" Sara questioned.

"Take Brittnay for instance" Will began. "She should have graduated last year but didn't. She has some really weird ideas about things. Last year she was dating Santana. This year she is dating Sam. Oh and don't be surprised if she calls Unique 'Merceedes'" he explained.

"Yeah Finn mentioned some about Brittany too" Sara admitted. "And Unique is really Wade right?" Sara asked.

"Yes. And I am currently fighting with his parents to at least let him perform as Unique. They don't even want that. But if Wade had his choice, he would be Unique 24/7" Will said.

"That is rough" Sara admitted. "Poor kid but a great performer though." Will nodded as Sara thought about how to bring up her next question without sounding like a school girl with a crush. "Will, what is the deal with Finn? Why is he co- director? Why isn't he a member or even the captain of the New Directions?" she asked.

"Finn, like some of the others, is a little lost. I'm just trying to be here for him so I offered him a co-director title while he figures things out; something to anchor him with. He was the co-captain for three years before he graduated. Now he is trying to find his way. He is not technically a student here at McKinley but he is my co-director and he is helping Shannon with the football team a bit too. He still has friends here and he works at his step fathers garage and he told me he is taking two classes at Lima Community College. I think he is trying to get into a better school, a bigger school. Probably a school in New York where Rachel and Kurt are" Will explained.

"And Rachel and Kurt would be?" Sara asked, afraid of the answer coming up.

"Kurt is his step brother and Rachel is his girlfriend. Rachel and Finn were the co-captains of New Directions for three years" Will explained as he walked over to the trophy case and pulled out a bunch of photos. "Here are all the kids celebrating on stage when we won Regionals last year. There is Kurt, Blaine, Finn, Rachel. Actually Rachel and Finn were going to get married after Regionals but then Quinn was in a bad accident" he said as he pointed to a pretty blonde in the picture. "Quinn was texting and driving and was hit by another vehicle. She spent some time in wheelchair but she is a fighter and as you can see" Will shuffled to another photo "by Nationals Quinn was back on her feet."

"Wow" Sara said, stunned by the young girls determination.

"Rachel and Finn were going to get married again but instead he put her on a train to New York and wouldn't let her look back. He was too lost and confused to go with her and dampen her New York experience but their relationship has changed since then. They are in a holding pattern of sorts while he figures out his life and she starts this new chapter of hers" Will continued. "I know he cares for her deeply still and they still see each other and talk and text and email, but I don't think they are engaged anymore" he admitted.

"Is he sad still?" Sara asked.

"I think he used to be" Will replied honestly. "I think being part of Glee club helps him feel closer to her. And it is something he is passionate about. I'm just trying to help him find something he can be passionate about now that high school is over. Something to propel him to that next chapter" Will explained.

Sara shook her head. "So Finn is not a student here at McKinley High at all?"

"Not anymore" Will confirmed. "Actually Sara, I think one of the classes he is taking at LCC is an English class. You should ask him about it. I think he's also taking an advanced math too, maybe Calculus or something."

Sara groaned and looked at Will. "Is it absolutely horrible of me that I've been making him call me Miss Walsh even if he asked me if he could call me Sara?" she asked. "I had no idea he wasn't a student here. He never really told me."

Will Shuester chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure it is not a big deal. If you are ok with him calling you Sara though now that you know, you should tell him. So Sara, do you think you would like to come up with a theme for us to work on. Maybe not for next week, but the week after or two weeks from now" he asked.

"I'd love to, as long as I don't have to sing" said Sara.

Before Will Shuester could ask Sara what she meant, Sam came into the choir room with an emergency regarding his song for that afternoon. Other glee kids trickled in as they hung out in the choir room before first bell. Blaine walked into the room and with a sense of determination he walked up to Miss Walsh.

"Excuse me Miss Walsh" Blaine said.

"Yes Blaine" she responded.

"I don't mean to offend you" he began, "but are these the type of clothes you normally wear" he asked. "Is this what you would normally wear to class at UT?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Sara asked incredulously as she looked down at her outfit.

"The cardigan is cute" Blaine sighed "but not the best color on you" he noted of the peachy sweater. "The dress (a black long sundress with little peach/pink flowers all over it) looks like it is a couple of sizes too big for you and has no shape what so ever. You might as well cut arm and a neck hole in a trash bag and wear it to school" he said. "What's that on your feet?" he asked. "Are you wearing boots?" Sara nodded. "How high up the leg do they go" Blaine questioned. Sara lifted the edge of her skirt to reveal mid calf. "Those boots, that length, the squared toe, those are for jeans" Blaine informed her. "If you want boots to wear with skirts and dresses, go for just above or just below the knee and a pointed toe."

Sara looked at Blaine a little sullenly. He took one of her hands in his hand and Sara noticed he had the softest hands she had even touched for a guy. "Glee club is all about accepting ourselves for who we are and accepting each other no matter what" he started. "If this" he waved his other hand in her direction, "is who you REALLY are, then we can accept that. But if it isn't," he stopped to look her in the eyes, "don't be afraid to show us who you really are."

They sat there for a couple of minutes not saying anything. "Did I cross a line" Blaine asked. "Did I offend you?"

"You did cross a line Blaine" Sara admitted honestly. "You should not be giving a teacher unsolicited fashion advice. But I'm not overly offended. There is a lot of truth in what you are saying and I can appreciate that. I'll take your suggestions under advisement" she said as the first bell rang and everyone started to file out of the room.

Blaine took out his phone and sent a text.

**Blaine: Spoke to Miss Walsh about her wardrobe this AM. She will take it under advisement.**

At Hummel Tire and Lube, Finn looked at the new text as he shrugged into his overalls.

**Finn: Dude wth not a good idea why would you do that**

Finn then put the phone on the top shelf of his locker and shut the door, not seeing the following text until much later.

**Blaine: Might I remind you, Finn Hudson, that you started all of this.**

****A/N**

**Obviously Finn and Blaine don't have any cute nicknames for each other on their phones. Should they? What should they be?**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. **

Chapter 8- You Can Call Me

Sara spent most of the day thinking about how she would apologize to Finn and tell him that it was ok with her if he wanted to call her Sara when they were alone or with Will. But no matter how many times she played with the wording, it just came off as silly. Maybe she shouldn't say anything. Maybe just the next time he called her Miss Walsh she would just correct him 'you can call me Sara'. She really had no idea. Mr Thayer's final class of the day was working on a personal response essay and so Sara had a lot of time to think about it. Once in a while a student would come up to her with a question or ask her to read what they were writing and give guidance, but for the most part, Sara was over thinking her apology. Sara was looking out the door scanning the mostly deserted hallways for signs of life when she saw Finn walk by Mr Thayer's classroom. Sara rose from her place at the back of the room and excused herself from the class with Mr Thayer citing the need to go to the bathroom.

Once out in the hall Sara walked quickly and with determination in the direction she had seen Finn go. He was undoubtedly headed to the choir room already. Her heels clicked noisily in the near empty hallways as she rushed to catch up to him. "Hey Finn" she stage whispered, trying to be as quiet was possible in the hallway but still wanting to get his attention. Finn turned when he heard his name called and stopped before starting to walk backwards towards her when he saw Sara in the hall walking towards him.

"What's up Miss Walsh" he asked as he leaned against the corner where the hallway they were in met with the hallway leading to the auditorium and the staff lunch room.

"I just wanted to apologize" Sara began "when Will and I met this morning and we were talking about the New Directions, he told me a lot of things I didn't know. I thought you were like all the other kids," she explained "I thought you were a student here and so I didn't think-" and she was cut off.

It happened before Finn could do anything to stop it. He had noticed the group of red jackets walking towards them and feared the worse. There hadn't been a slushie incident since they won Nationals last year, but apparently this was indeed a new year. Finn watched in horror as two sophomores of the football team threw icy red slushie at Miss Walsh before they sprinted down the hallway. Part of Finn wanted to tear after them and march them into Coach Biestes office but he figured he would deal with that later. Right now, after having experienced a couple of slushies himself, Finn knew how to best help Miss Walsh.

"Don't open your eyes, it just stings" Finn commanded as he took one of her hands in his and put the other on the small of her back and guided her towards the staff lunch room. "Stay right here for a minute I'm going to get help" he said and Sara heard him shuffle off. Finn picked up the telephone in the lunchroom and called Emma Pillsbury in the guidance office. "Hi Miss Pillsbury, this is Finn. I'm in the lunchroom with Miss Walsh. She was just slushied in the halls by a couple of sophomores. Can you call Mr Thayer and ask him to collect her things together and we'll come get them after class? Also, can you get a couple of towels from Coach Bieste and the football team and bring them to us. Thanks Miss Pilsbury, you're the best" he said as he hung up the phone.

"Now come with me" Finn said as he guided Sara into a washroom. "Keep your eyes closed" he instructed as he turned on some water. He carefully removed her glasses and ran them under the water washing away the slushie. Then he wet some paper towel and gently wiped her face. With slushie still dripping down from her hair, Finn tore off more paper towel and tried to wipe it all away. "It's ok to open your eyes now" Finn said as he finished drying her face a little. Sara squinted at him without her glasses and he handed them to her after drying them with more paper towel.

"What was that?" Sara asked as she put her glasses back on.

"I'm sorry, we should have warned you. The football team and glee club have some bad blood between them despite some crossovers. They like to slushie us- throw frozen slushies at us" he explained.

There was a knock on the door. "Finn? Sara?" Emma asked.

Finn opened the door. "Thanks Miss Pilsbury. I was just helping Sara clean off" he explained.

"Oh dear, look at your clothes" Emma said.

Sara looked down and her once peach cardigan was mostly red now, sopping wet and freezing cold. "This probably isn't saveable" she said as she peeled it from her arms and placed a towel around her shoulders to warm up and dry off. Sara dropped the wet sweater in the trash.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked, about to fish the sweater out of the garbage.

"Yeah it's ok. Blaine said it wasn't my best color anyway" Sara admitted as both Finn and Emma stifled a giggle. "This dress is dark and probably saveable, but it's wet and cold. I need something else to wear. Can you guys go check out the costumes in the auditorium" Sara asked Emma and Finn.

"Sure" Finn replied. "Try to rinse your hair too. Otherwise the syrup will make your hair and scalp all sticky" he explained. He put another towel on the counter beside the sink.

Sara heard the end of the day bell ring as she starting pulling the pins out of her hair. When the bun unwound itself more syrupy mess ran down her hair onto her back. Sara thrust her head under the water tap and rinsed her hair until the water no longer ran red when she squeezed the excess out. She wrapped the towel from her shoulders around her head in a turban style. Then she shimmied out of the black dress and wrapped the other towel around her petite frame, pressing the terry of the towel against her skin that was still damp in places. She rinsed the dress under the water and then squeezed the extra water out of it. Since Emma and Finn hadn't brought back any clothes yet, Sara took a moment to look at her reflection in the mirror. Thank goodness she never went too heavy on the makeup as it would have surely streaked. Her face was red though, in part from the red of the sluhsie, in part from the ragged ice and in part from the cold.

"Sara" Emma said as she knocked on the door again. Sara opened the door to find Emma holding a couple of possible clothing options for you. "Sorry, we didn't really know your size so hopefully something works" she explained. "Finn went off to collect your personal items from Mr Thayer's class and I already explained to Will what happened. I think Finn said he would just meet you in the choir room when you are ready. I'm really sorry this happened to you Sara. We'll make sure the boys are dealt with appropriately" Emma reassured her.

Sara looked over the clothing options. She giggled when she realised that they brought her a Cheerios uniform. That was so NOT going to happen. There was a pair of black leggings though, they might work. Sara dug through the rest of the pile until she found a blue man's button up shirt. It would be big but long like a dress and she could just cuff up the sleeves. She buttoned the shirt all the way up and then decided better against it and undid the top button and pulled open the collar a little. It just needed a belt. A scarf or a sash would do in a pinch but where could she find something like that. Then Sara remembered Blaine's earlier comments about her dress and she had an idea. She walked out into the lunch room with her hair still in a turban and found a pair of scissors. She cut a sash out of the bottom hem of her dress from before. It was still damp so she ran it under the air hand dryer in the bathroom before notting it at the side of her waist to turn the shirt into a kind of dress. It wasn't her style either but it would have to work.

Meanwhile, Finn was on his way to Mr Thayer's class to collect Sara's stuff.

"Hi Mr Thayer" Finn said as he knocked on the door. "I came to get Miss Walsh's things for her. She is just in the bathroom cleaning up" he explained.

"They are over there Finn" Dan Thayer motioned to the back corner where Sara had been sitting that first time when he had tried to invite her to lunch.

Finn noticed her notebook was open and he was about to close it when something caught his eye- his name. Sara must have had his named scribbled half a dozen times in her notebook. It looked like she was trying to write the script to some sort of apology but each one stopped short of the actual apology. Then Finn remembered, she had been trying to say something to him before the slushie incident. He flipped her notebook closed and tucked it into her bag. As he slid the book into her bag his fingers brushed past his cell phone and before he really knew what he was doing, he took it out and sent a text to himself. Now he would have her cell phone number in case they needed to talk about Glee stuff. Then he added his number to her contacts to be fair.

Back in the lunch room bathroom, Sara pulled the towel turban from her head and let her hair fall down past her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair to try to loosen some of the knots and control some of the curls. Without her purse, she had nothing but her fingers at her disposal so she finger combed her hair into a pony tail that she secured with the elastic from her bun. Then she twisted the end back up and tucked them into the pony tail as well. It was messy, but it was the best she could do. Sara smiled to herself as she wished she had a bit of the gel Blaine always had in his hair.

When Sara entered the choir room, everyone turned to look at her and they began applauding. Sara felt a brush creep up her face. "That officially makes you one of us now" Will said as he offered her a chair. "I'm really sorry about that though Miss Walsh" he said apologetically.

"It's ok, no real worse for wear" Sara replied with a smile. "But I sure could use a good song or two" she said.

"You heard the lady" Will Shuester announced. "Ok fellas it's your turn, who's on deck first" he asked.

While Will was getting the guys ready for their performances, Finn handed Sara her bag. "Thank you Finn, not just for collecting my stuff but for all your help with the slushie incident" she said.

"Not a problem" he said with a grin. Before Sara could make a comment about the Cheerios uniform he lights went down and Sam was presenting his song. Sara dug out her notebook and again took notes on each of the performances.

By the time all the guys had performed, Sara was exhausted. They had been equally as good as the girls the day before. As the students shuffled out and on their way waving and calling good bye to each other, Will, Finn and Sara went to sit down together. Sara stifled a yawn and Will looked at Finn. "Today has been pretty interesting so here is what we are going to do. I'm going to choose a theme for next week, Sara you can choose the week after that. Let's all three of us come up with some possible set lists for sectionals on our own and compare notes next week. And we'll call it a day today. Maybe we can briefly talk right after school on Monday" Will suggested.

"Sounds good" Sara replied as Finn nodded his agreement.

"Great, then let's get out of here" Will said.

"Oh Mr – Will" Finn began "I'm sorry but I won't be able to make it tomorrow. I'm heading into NYC to surprise Rachel for the weekend. I'll be back by Monday afternoon though" he promised.

"Well safe travels then Finn and say hi to Rachel for us" Will said before he left the choir room.

"Um, Finn" Sara began as she walked over to the trophy case to look at the pictures Will had shown her earlier in the day.

"Yes Miss Walsh" Finn replied as he followed her to the trophy case and followed her gaze to the pictures of the New Directions from the last couple of years.

"I was trying to tell you, I mean I was trying to apologize to you earlier" stammered Sara. "Will explained a bunch of stuff to me today. Like about you not actually being a student" she began.

"I told you that yesterday" Finn sighed as he interrupted her, his breath warm against her ear they were so close. Her hair still smelled like red slushie and a smile played on his lips.

"I know" Sara said, interrupting him this time. "But I didn't understand. And given all I know now, I realise I was a bit harsh and hasty. And if you still want to, you can call me Sara when it's just us, or when we're just with Will" Sara said. She turned around to look at him and was trapped between him and the glass of the trophy case. He already had one hand on the glass leaning against the case but when Sara turned around to face him, Finn put his other hand against the case as well.

"Well thank you Sara" Finn emphasized. "And apology accepted."

"I also wanted to thank you for the Cheerios uniform, but unfortunately that is just not my style" Sara laughed, trying to hide her nervousness at being so close to this guy that had a way of making every cell in her body tingle just by being near her.

Finn chucked as well at her joke "I like this too" he said nodding at what she was wearing now. "Is this more your style than what you've been wearing?" he asked. "Because Blaine told me he gave you some fashion 101 this morning" Finn confessed.

"Not really" Sara said. "Although it is probably closer" she admitted. "I just didn't want to look like another student. I wanted to look a little older, a little more mature, like an authority figure" Sara confessed.

"A little advice" Finn offered and Sara nodded. "Loose the sharp pulled back hair and twisty thing. Talk to Brittney about hairography. Your hair right now is much nicer than before and it smells like slushie still" Finn admitted with a slight blush to his freckled cheeks. "And think about contacts maybe. I noticed during rehearsal for the group numbers you had to keep pushing your glasses up because they were falling off your nose" he said as he brought one finger up to push her sliding glasses up her nose and make his point.

Sara just stood there, listening to him talk about how she should improve her look. She almost went cross eyed as she followed his finger as he pushed her glasses back up her nose for her. And then they both just stood there for a second. And despite the fact that Sara knew that Finn was with Rachel, she thought he was going to kiss her. And then she yawned and it happened so fast she wasn't able to stifle it. And all Sara could think about was what did she eat for lunch and when did she last have a mint because they were so close he could surely smell her breath when she yawned.

Finn used his hands to push himself away from Sara and the trophy case.

"You should probably get home Sara" Finn said as he walked back over to pick up his bag. "Break a leg tomorrow with the group number. Sorry I'll be missing it" he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the choir room leaving Sara standing all alone. 'Not that sorry if you'll be with your girlfriend' Sara thought as she walked out of the choir room and walked the deserted halls of McKinley.


	9. Chapter 9

****A/N: Reveiws=yay happy me **

**I've adjusted some of this chapter to fix a problem I was having later on. I'm not sure if it works as well as it once did but oh well! I was stuck for a bit but found a new twist and found three chapters that I hadn't planned on writing And Sara is not nearly as crazy as I am writing her- I hope to give you some insights to her though some flashback/back story coming up after the eventual Finchel and ensuing angst/smut. But that's still a couple of chapters away. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 9- The Leather Jacket

Emily Murphy looked up from the chair she was sitting in reading when her niece entered the house. "I don't remember that being what you were wearing when you left this morning" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Just had a little accident Auntie; no big deal" Sara replied with a smile not wanting to worry to her aunt. Sara sat down on the love seat across from her aunt and slipped off her boots before tucking her feet in under her. "I found out the real story today about that accident."

"Hmmm, what's that dear" Emily said, looking over at her niece puzzled.

Sara let out an exasperated sigh "The accident with the glee kids after that competition last year. I found out the whole story today. It was the two co-captains, Rachel and Finn that were going to get married. And they were texting Quinn one of the other girls in the group and one of the bridesmaids. And she was hit by a truck. She wasn't killed but she was in a wheelchair for a while. But she was very determined to get back on her feet again and she did" Sara recounted the story to her aunt.

"Isn't it lovely when stories have a happy ending" Emily commented and Sara nodded. "Oh, but wait. Do you know if the young couple ever get married? Emily asked.

"I don't think so" Sara admitted. "But I think they are still together" she said as she forced a smile.

"They're too young to get married anyway" Emily said matter of factly.

"You're probably right Auntie" Sara said as she rose and walked to her room.

Friday morning and Sara looked at her reflection in the mirror again. She shook her head in disbelief at her reflection. But Sara had been the one to pick the costumes for the group number today and she might as well dress the part too. Sara had to admit though that Blaine was right, her square toed boots looked far better with her dark jeans today than they had with most of her skirts and dresses this week. She had already tucked a white tee and her favorite back hoodie into her bag. She was opting to wear a crisp white linen blouse to school with tight sleeves just past her elbows. She left the top two buttons open and was wearing a black leather collar with a silver daisy medallion. Her gold hoops were replaced with the diamond studs her parents had given her on her 16th birthday and she wore her same watch. She opted for a darker wine colored lip gloss this morning and shoved her glasses on. But she put her contacts in her bag for later. Sara had taken her hair and gathered it into a low pony tail at the base of her neck and then twisted it up and continued to twist it tight until she had all but a little bit of the ends twisted in. She secured the twist at the top of her head with a butterfly clip and let the loose ends fall over the top of the clip like the curly ribbon on a present. This was definitely a lot closer to what she would normally wear (although probably the tee and a sweater instead of the blouse) but she didn't feel like a teacher anymore.

Sara was about to grab her leather jacket from the closet when her phone signaled she had a new text message.

**CHADLEY: Good morning sunshine. I've got a surprise for you. I'm going to come visit you next Friday and stay for the weekend and save you from utter boredom.**

**SMURFETTE: Really Chad?! I can't wait! What are we going to do?**

**CHADLEY: I've still got a couple of surprises for you but those will have to wait until next weekend. But really I just want to talk to you and catch up. I've missed you. We all have.**

**SMURFETTE: I've missed you too. All of you. I mean all of you guys. But I've thankfully been pretty busy.**

**CHADLEY: Can you just clear it with your aunt that it is ok that I come and stay for the weekend. Remember how upset she was when she came up here to visit you last year and I spent the night?**

**SMURFETTE: As long as you are not planning on sleeping in my bed, I'm sure she will be fine with it.**

**CHADLEY: Ok, you can sleep in my bed then ;)**

**SMURFETTE: CHAD! Ok I gtg or I'll be late. TTYL xo**

Nothing was able to wipe the smile from Sara's face that day until lunchtime.

Sara noticed people looking at her as she walked to Mr Thayer's classroom that morning, but she didn't stop because she was running later thanks to Chad's texts.

"Good morning Miss Walsh" Dan Thayer said as Sara walked in. He looked up and quickly sucked in his breath. Gone was the mousy woman hiding in her clothes and standing before him was a more confident although seemingly younger woman. "Quite the transformation there" Dan nodded to her clothes. "Those Glee kids got to you" he said.

"Kind of my idea" Sara replied. "This is more or less the costume for today's group number- which I picked" she admitted.

"I heard about yesterday afternoon" Dan said. "I should have warned you."

"No real damage" Sara shrugged. "As long as those boys are dealt with- I don't really care." Sara smiled as she thought about how nice Finn had been to help clean her up and get her things and help Miss Pilsbury find her some clothes. She thought about how gentle his touch was as he tried to wipe the wet slush from her face. Then she shook her head as if to shake Finn Hudson from her mind and walked to the back of the room.

Jake Puckerman walked into his first class that morning, English with Mr Thayer, and scanned the room for Miss Walsh. His eyes almost missed her sitting her in usual spot. As if she felt his eyes on her, Sara Walsh looked up from her notebook and gave him a smile and a nod before looking back down at what she was writing. Jake gave her a little wave and slid into his seat in the middle of the room before he pulled out his phone.

**JAKE: u should see miss walsh**

**RYDER: ?**

**JAKE: shes wearing jeans and a leather jacket man she looks good**

**RYDER: really?**

**JAKE: just wait until glee**

By lunch time all of the glee kids had either texted or talked about Miss Walsh's new look. Tina, Sam and Jake had each seen her and they were giving their opinions to the others.

"I'm telling you Blaine", Sam said, "it's like that slushie woke the girl up."

Blaine nodded a little happy with himself. After all he had spoken to her about her abysmal style yesterday. He whipped out his phone and sent a text to Finn Hudson who was on a 12 hour train ride to NYC.

**BLAINE: So rumour has it, Miss Walsh stepped into the current decade with her fashion choices.**

**FINN: what**

**BLAINE: She looks different. Jake said "she looks good".**

**FINN: good or _good_**

**BLAINE: There is a difference?**

**FINN: LOL yeah there is man**

**BLAINE: Not my cup of tea. I haven't seen her but I'll let you know my thoughts once I see her. Did you remember my cookies for Kurt?**

**FINN: yeah but there might be a couple less than you made**

**BLAINE: FINN!**

Will Shuester raised an eyebrow as Sara Walsh sat down at their table in the lunchroom. "Costume for today- or a little closer to Sara in real life" he asked.

Sara laughed. "A little of both" she admitted. "It feels comfortable but I don't know how to set that student/teacher boundry now."

"It's all about the attitude" Shannon interjected. "Let them know you are boss and don't let them see you sweat!"

"And just who is this…person sitting in my chair at my table" a voice behind Sara said as her chair was yanked back from the table, causing Sara to almost slide out of the chair.

Sara was sure it was just her imagination but she could have sworn she heard the wicked witch of the west theme as the tall woman glared down at her. Sara stood up and tried to pull herself up to every extra inch of height her boots gave her. The blonde woman was tall, taller than Finn even and was dressed in a red and white Addias track suit. She swung a long leg over the back of the chair and slid into it, helping herself to Sara's lunch before looking Sara up and down. "So pipsqueak," the blonde said, "just who are you?"

"Sue-" Will began.

"William, if I wanted to hear your annoying voice, I'd talk to you" Sue Sylvester said before turning her eyes back to Sara still standing there. "Cat got your tongue mousey?" she taunted.

Sara pushed her glasses back up her nose and straightened her back. "I'm Sara Walsh, Dan Thayer's student teacher and this" Sara began as she reached across Sue and picked up her lunch and then bent down to grab her bag by the chair, "is my lunch." Sara walked around to the other side of the table and pulled a chair up in between Emma and Shannon and glared at Sue across the table. "And you are?" Sara asked.

"You don't know who I am" Sue asked incredulously.

"No" Sara simply said as she shook her head.

"I'm Sue Sylvester- head coach of the multi championship Cheerios. And I don't think I like you" Sue said matter of factly.

"Feelings mutual" Sara muttered as she continued eating her lunch completely unaware of the slack jaws sitting around the table with her.

By the end of the day, Sara had almost forgotten about her encounter with Sue Sylvester. She was looking forward to getting together with the glee club and watching them perform the group number. Sara swung by the teachers loung bathroom and traded her white blouse and leather jacket for her white tee and black hoodie. Truth be told, the tee actually used to be Chad's. He had worn it once, had spilt something on it at her place and when she had washed it, it had shrunk just a little too much for it. So Sara kept it for herself even though it was very big on her. Then Sara adjusted the butterfly clip in her hair. Instead of pinning her hair at the top of her head, she pinned it about halfway down so the ends were now longer and after being twisted up all day, quite curly. Sara looked at her reflection in the mirror and groaned. Her glasses! She quickly popped in her contacts and a bunch of extra drops to make up for the dryness in the school. Then Sara rushed to the auditorium where she gave her updated notes to the lighting guy in the booth and ran to sit with Will Shuester in the audience.

"You handled yourself pretty well with Sue today" Will said to Sara when she sat down. "Sue is pretty much the bully of the teachers and I'm not sure why but she dislikes me and the Glee club a lot."

"It's not like I haven't dealt with my fair share of bullies" Sara replied.

When the music started Will leaned his shoulder into her and sang "I want it all" so Sara replied "I want it all" and then they both sang "I want it all, and I want it now!" Then the students started singing in earnest and Will and Sara just sat back and enjoyed the performance. However, during the musical interlude between the 2nd and 3rd verses Brittany and Blaine came and took Sara by the hands and dragged her up on stage to join the group. She laughed as she tried to say and no and protest but it was just too much fun. Sara even sang along with the group at the end. It was a great way to end the week.

Before everyone could leave for the weekend though, Will Shuester gathered them around and gave them their assignment for the next week. "Ok guys I'm going to do something a little different. I've picked a whole decade of music as a theme. And I am sure it will surprise you none to know that I picked the 80's. Now I have an envelope for you and it has the song I have picked for you. I looked to the top of the charts for each year in the 80's as inpiration for our work this week and our group number will be That's What Friends Are For." Will Schuester then handed out and envelope to each student, tucked one into his bag and gave one to Sara. She looked at Will with panicked eyes. "Now, you can come to me by Tuesday with an alternate appropriate song if you don't like my choice. Have a good weekend folks!"

The students tore open into their envelopes and started gathering in groups and talking and laughing. Sara couldn't stand to open hers so she tucked it into her bag. Then Sara remembered something Finn had said and she walked up to Brittney. "Hey Brittney, can I ask you a question?" Sara smiled at the blonde cheerleader who looked very different out of her Cheerio uniform and in jeans and a tee shirt.

"Sure Miss Walsh" Brittney said with a smile.

"Finn told me to ask you about something called 'hairography'" Sara said.

"Hairography is using your head and hair like a dancer dances during a song" Brittney said. She pulled her own ponytale out and demonstrated while a couple of students including her boyfriend Sam gathered around and chanted "Go Brittney, go Brittney, go go, go Brittney!"

Sara smiled and nodded. She understood what Finn meant now. Let her hair down a little and let loose. "Thanks Brittney" Sara said as she started to walk away. Before Sara could leave the auditorium though, Blaine bounded up to her.

"Miss Walsh" he said touching her arm.

Sara turned to look at him.

"You look great today, although the tee shirt looks like maybe it is your boyfriends or something you would sleep in. But I was wondering, since I kind of gave you some fashion advice yesterday, could I take a picture with you today" he said. When Sara looked at him with a puzzled expression Blaine continued, "To show my boyfriend your new look after what I said to. Pity I don't have a before shot" he added.

Tina, who was nearby interjected "If you are going to take a picture of Miss Walsh's new look she should go put that pretty blouse back on."

Blaine looked at her with pleading eyes before Sara caved and laughed out loud.

"No this is not at ALL inappropriate student-teacher behaviour" she said as she rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll be right back" Sara said as she disappeared back stage into one of the dressing rooms. She came back with her blouse and leather jacket back on and slid up next to Blaine. He tossed his phone to Tina and she snapped a picture of Blaine and Miss Walsh together.

"Tell Kurt we say hi and we miss him" Tina said over her shoulder as she walked out of the auditorium.

Once everyone else had left the auditorium and he was sure he was alone, Blaine texted Finn on the train again.

**BLAINE: She looked so much better today- more current. The 'I Want it All' number was perfect and you missed it all.**

**FINN: oh well im just over 3 hours away from rachel you know my girlfriend and hopefully lots of pda **

**BLAINE: I'm not reading…I'm not reading…lalalalala…I'm not reading. But seriously, act like that and I won't send the pic I had Tina snap of us.**

**BLAINE: And Finn, I know you are a smart boy, but make sure you delete this before you get to NYC.**


	10. Chapter 10

****A/N: I fiddled with this chapter some. If it seems strange that may be why. My apologies.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 10- Every Breath You Take

When Sara got out behind the wheel of her vw bug she dug the envelope Will Schuester had handed her out of her bag. She ripped into one corner with her pinky fingernail and then ran it along the short edge before dumping the contents on her lap. The small piece of paper read:

_Sara Walsh_

_80's Week- Every Breath You Take: The Police_

Sara groaned and leaned her head against the steering wheel. She would just talk to him next week. She could probably handle a group number but not a single. Still, Sara plugged in her ipod and shuffled through her playlist, until she found Every Breath You Take and listened to it over and over until she reached home.

Once Sara got home her Aunt was in the kitchen making snacks for her weekly bridge game. "Oh Sara honey, don't forget, I have bridge tonight. I'll be at Anna's and it will be quite late" Emily Murphy told her niece.

Sara stifled a giggle. Her definition of late and her aunts were seriously different.

"Ok Aunt Emily" she replied.

"You know Sara," Emily said as she walked over towards the patio doors and motioned outside. "Noah's back. He told me last time that he thought you were cute. Maybe he doesn't have plans for tonight," she suggested.

Sara looked at her Aunt with wide eyes before she walked out onto the patio.

She slipped into one of the deck chairs in the shade, crossed her legs and waited for Noah to notice her. She remembered what Shannon Bieste had said to her earlier that day:_ "it's all about the attitude."_ When she saw him turn around and glance over in her direction she rose from her spot and walked very determinedly over to where he was by the edge of the pool.

Noah brought a hand up to his face and raised his sunglasses from their perch on his nose and rested them on top of his head. His eyes squinted at first from the sun but they widened as Sara closed the distance between them. When she was practically standing on his feet, Noah noticed how short she actually was. He was probably almost a foot taller than her. But she didn't seem to notice or care as she poked her finger in his chest and unleashed accusations at him.

"What gives you the right to jump in the pool and wreck my concentration? And then you have the nerve to tell my aunt I'm 'cute'" Sara sputtered. "I felt bad about biting you and not saying sorry before. But now-"

Noah interrupted her, grabbing her finger in his fist. "I only said 'cute' because I thought your auntie would like that better than 'hot' or 'sexy'" Noah admitted with a grin. "You kind of remind me of my best friends' gal. She's all little and full of fire too" Noah said as he looked Sara up and down again and let her finger go.

Sara rolled her eyes and smirked. "Are you almost done pool boy?" Sara replied not even waiting for Noah to answer before she disappeared inside.

Noah shook his head and pulled his glasses back down and got back to work. Yeah she was like Berry alright although maybe a little more raw and grown up. Before Sara reappeared, Noah noticed the outside lights turned on and music began playing over the outdoor speakers- Noah cocked his head and gave a listen. It was Roxanne by The Police. Then Sara came out as he was packing up his equipment. "All finished" he said with a flourish.

Sara turned on the lights in the pool and walked towards the other end of the pool where the diving board was. She walked out to the end, pulled up her goggles and launched herself into the water. When she came up she noticed Noah was again still there. "If you plan on staying Noah, you might as well join me" she offered.

Puck didn't need a second invitation as he discarded his sunglasses, his shirt and his sandals before cannon balling into the pool. He found Sara determinedly swimming laps and he joined her. "How did you know my name was Noah?" he asked as he joined her swimming lap after lap in the pool.

"I heard my Aunt call you Noah. Is it ok if I call you Noah" Sara asked.

"People usually don't" he began, "but sure if you want to."

"What do they call you? Hawk because ofyour hair?" Sara asked

"Something like that" Puck replied. "Noah's ok though."

They swam in silence while the greatest hits of the The Police song continued to play. After about 10 mintues he stopped mid stroke. "What's up with the music?" he asked.

Sara continued to the wall before she stopped to answer. "I like The Police and Sting, do you have a problem with that" she asked.

Puck shook his head no. He was about to return to swimming when the song changed to Every Breath You Take and Sara starfished on her back and closed her eyes, just drifting around the pool. "What's-" Puck began about to ask her name before she ssshhhed him. So he followed suit and just lazily floated in the pool. He thought maybe the song was hint and she wanted him, so he made sure he was floating near her so when the song ended he could make his move. But then Puck realised he didn't even know her name. All he knew was she reminded him of Berry, was like a firecracker you forgot to let go of and she could attack like Zena Warrior Princess. Maybe he'd call her Zena. That was pretty badass.

Meanwhile while she was floating around the pool listening to the song Sara was wondering how she was going to get out of it. Behind her closed eyes the scene of her puking when she discovered Finn had caught her mid solo played. Then Sara remembered how his hands felt when they had pushed hers onto his hips during the Hello, Goodbye song. Suddenly, Finn's voice was in her ear telling Blaine they were headed for the auditorium for a hot make out session. And he was singing to her about setting something free oh she couldn't remember what it was, just how incredibly turned on it made her. Next Finn was helping clean her up after the slushie incident and then after that Sara remembered how he had trapped he between his body and the trophy case and Sara thought that for a moment he was going to kiss her. Finn's voice was in her ears again as the song ended saying he was going to NYC for the weekend to visit Rachel-his girlfriend. In fact Sara thought, he was probably having hot make-up-for-lost-time sex with his girlfriend at that very moment. And Sara was the creepy stalker from this song. Sara flipped her body over and dove to the bottom of the pool to stifle her screams.

When she surfaced, Noah was right there.

"Zena, are you alright" he asked.

"Zena" Sara said as she raised an eyebrow.

"I just realised I don't even know your name. I figure, the way you attacked me in the pool the other day, you are like Zena Warrior Princess," he explained.

"Zena," Sara said again. "I think I like it" Sara admitted. She could pretend to be Zena.

Puck moved in closer, closed his eyes and just as his lips met hers he felt her hands on his chest pushing him away.

"Sorry" he apologized. "I thought the song was a hint" he said as he swam over to the edge to get out.

"No, it's ok" Sara replied.

"I don't supposed you want to go to a movie with me tonight" Puck asked after he lifted himself out of the pool.

"What movie" she questioned as she swam to the edge and climbed the ladder.

"There is a new Zombie one playing downtown" Puck suggested.

"Sure" Sara said. "Give me 40 minutes to shower and change" she asked. Then she handed Noah a towel to dry off with.

"Yeah, I'll meet you back here" Puck said and he put his shirt and sandals back on and left.

When Puck returned, he was wearing a pair of dark denim, his boots, a white tee and a denim jacket. Sara opened the door wearing a light blue sundress, a pair of low heels, a messy braid and her gold hoops. She grabbed her leather jacket again and her purse as she walked out the door and locked it behind her.

"Damn Zena, you look fine" Puck announced when he saw her.

"You don't look so bad yourself Noah" Sara admitted.

At first Puck went to his side of the truck to get in but then he saw Sara still standing on the grass and he hopped back out and walked around. He opened her door for her and then helped her up into the truck, getting a whiff of her vanilla shampoo. "Thank you Noah" she said as she began to buckle her seat belt.

"Maybe after the movie we can get a bite to eat, or have some coffee or go for a drink" Noah suggested.

"You're over 21" Sara asked him.

"Nah, but I have a fake id that says I'm 25" he crowed.

"Well I'm not 21 yet and I don't have a fake id" Sara said with a shake of her head.

"I'm really 19" Puck admitted.

"I'll be 21 this fall" Sara said with a smile.

When Noah payed for the the movie admission, Sara insisted that she pay for snacks. She ordered each of them a coke and a large tub of buttery popcorn to share. They found two seats near an outside isle in the top half of the theatre and sat down.

When the movie started, they sat together comfortably in the silence and shared their tub of popcorn. About half way through the movie however, once the remaining popcorn had been remanded to the floor under Noah's seat, Sara noticed he stretched a long arm out behind her and rested it on the back of her seat. Sara looked at Noah sideways from under her eyelashes but he was looking ahead at the screen enjoying the movie. _"It's all about the attitude"_ rang in her ears again. So Sara put her right hand on his left knee. Soon Noah's hand was on her left shoulder and then it began to creep, slowly down to her left breast. As he crept his hand lower, Sara crept hers higher onto his thigh. When Noah failed to get the connection Sara was trying to make, she shifted slightly in her seat and stretched up towards him.

"Let me make this really easy for you Noah" Sara whispered, her warm breath hitting his neck and ear. "I'm not that kind of girl and you are not going to get what you want out of me tonight. But as long as you continue to wander your hand south, I will continue to wander mine north. I have no problem matching you tit for tat" she spat at him. Then Sara placed her left hand on Noah's right cheek and turned his head so he was looking directly at her. "Capiche?" she demanded.

Noah nodded and removed his arm from the back of her chair, shifting in his seat and dejectedly dropping his hands to his lap. Sara reached over and took his left hand in her right and interlaced their fingers before reaching up to plant a soft kiss to his cheek. He smiled at her and they finished watching the movie without incident. When they left the movie theatre, their fingers still interlaced, Noah again opened the door for her and helped her up before running over to the other side of the truck. They agreed to call it a night at that point and he drove her home and walked her to her front porch.

"Can I have your number so I can call you sometime Zena" Puck asked as they stood on her doorstep after the movie.

Sara shook her head no. "It's too soon for that Noah" she replied and watched as his smile faded and his eyes cast down. "But I will see you here on Tuesday" Sara said before she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Puck immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him and backed them both up against the door wanting to deepen the kiss. Sara placed her hands on his chest and pushed lightly and just like that, like someone had put a gun to his back, Noah Puckerman ended the kiss, took a step back.

"Good night Noah" Sara said as she opened the door.

"Good night Zena" Puck said as she entered the house and disappeared. Noah stood there for a moment before hoping in his truck. He was going to need to talk to Finn about how to control things with girls who liked to move slow. Finn had far more experience than Puck in that regard.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

****A/N- I apologize in advance for the similarities between this chapter and episode 4 of season 4. I thought it was so well written even if it was heartbreaking. I've added my own twists though, to make it fit the story I am looking to tell though. I hope you enjoy it. It's Finchel time!**

******Additional foot notes at the end about songs, quotes used in the chapter.**

Chapter 11- Oh NYC

Finn looked at the picture Blaine had just texted him. He let out a low whistle of appreciation before shaking his head and promptly deleting the picture and the last several texts to Blaine. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and scrolled through the hundred or so pictures of Rachel on his phone. He sighed. He couldn't get to New York City fast enough- only an hour or so more to go.

**BIG BROTHER: hey lil bro whats up what are you and my girl doing tonight**

**LIL BRO: Hey yourself! We're just having some dinner together right now but after dinner Rachel wants me to join her and some other NYADA students at Callbacks- a karoke type place all the NYADA kids frequent. She says hi by the way. She's trying to kiss my phone.**

**BIG BROTHER: lol say hi for me too tell her I'll text her in a second but can you get up and excuse yourself for a second so you can text me in private**

**LIL BRO: OK Mr Mystery. What's up?**

**BIG BROTHER: im on a train ill be there in little over an hour but it was supposed to be a surprise help please**

**LIL BRO: NO WAY! Oh I'm so excited. Oh dear, what to do, what to do. Do you want me to keep her here?**

**BIG BROTHER: no I don't want her to miss out on anything anyway we can meet her later and surprise her then**

**LIL BRO: I just might be able to make that work Finn. Oh I am so excited.**

**BIG BROTHER: so am I you have no idea**

**LIL BRO: Suddenly I am feeling less excited thanks!**

**BIG BROTHER: lol**

**LIL BRO: Should I meet you at the station?**

**BIG BROTHER: that would be great Kurt ive got a care package from mom and dad for you and rachel and goodies for you from blaine**

**LIL BRO: I'm excited again!**

**BIG BROTHER: and now im not lol my train gets in at 8:40pm**

**LIL BRO: See you soon.**

**BIG BROTHER: later**

"Everything ok with Finn" Rachel asked when Kurt walked back in to the room.

"Yeah, he'll text you in a minute. He was just telling me that Blaine kind of had a rough day so I am thinking I might stay home for a bit and skype with Blaine and then join you at Callbacks" Kurt explained establishing his alibi.

"Ok, that sounds good" Rachel said before she let out an excited squeal as her phone sounded with an incoming text from Finn. "I'm just going to take this in there" Rachel said motioning to her room.

"Yeah, you do that" Kurt said as he rolled his eyes.

**LOML: hey babe whats going on**

**GOLDSTAR: Oh Finn! How I miss you. I wish you were here.**

**LOML: I know me too**

**GOLDSTAR: I'm going out to Callbacks tonight with some other friends from NYADA and Kurt might join us later after he talks to Blaine. Unless did you want to Skype tonight?**

**LOML: nah im going to go out with some friends tonight too but tomorrow night, its all about us ok**

**GOLDSTAR: I can't wait!**

**LOLM: I love u Rachel**

**GOLDSTAR: I love you too Finn!**

Rachel sighed as she sat back down at the table with Kurt. "Don't I just have the best boyfriend ever" she stated.

Kurt nodded and looked anywhere but at Rachel, "Maybe the second best" he said as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"We're going to have a Skype date tomorrow, I can't wait to see him and hear his voice. Its so much better than quick texts and phonecalls" she admitted as Kurt nearly choked on his last bite of dinner.

"You two will have a wonderful time I am sure" Kurt said, trying not to laugh and wondering if there was anywhere he could crash for a couple of nights.

Soon Rachel was ready to go. She saw Kurt was busily tidying the kitchen and living room. "We can take care of all of that tomorrow Kurt" she said as she pushed him towards his room. "Go call Blaine and tell him I said 'hi. Text me when you get to Callbacks and I'll meet you at the door so you don't have to spend all night trying to find us'" she said as she waved and walked out the door.

**SOULMATE: Hey you, just waiting to pick up my brother from the train and surprise the Diva . Kinda hoping maybe you stowed away in my brothers suitcase?**

**CUTIE: Ewwww, no but I did consider asking Finn to wait until tonight to leave and maybe I could have gone with him.**

**SOULMATE: Oh well, in one week I'll be home anyway for the concert. I can't wait. It's too bad I'll have to leave so early Sunday though.**

**CUTIE: I know. And then you are still coming home for Finn's party in a couple of weeks right? He has me run ragged with all the details.**

**SOULMATE: Of course I will. Have any of the other graduates RSVPed yet?**

**CUTIE: Puck since he is still in town. Everyone else is trying to but I don't know.**

**SOULMATE: Oh, I see Finn- gotta dash. Love you!**

**CUTIE: I love you too!**

When Finn saw Kurt leaning up against the wall texting, he quickened his stride and wrapped his arms around his brother and lifted him clear off the ground before setting him back down.

"Well hello to you too" Kurt said as he straightened his rumpled clothes.

"My stomach feels like a hundred little kids are doing gymnastics in there" Finn confessed to his brother. He wiped his hands on his jeans "Even my palms are sweaty."

"Goodlord Finn, it's just Rachel. Rachel, your girlfriend of the last two years, Rachel your almost wife" Kurt began.

"Rachel that I haven't seen in 4 weeks" Finn finished.

"Well yeah that too" Kurt said as he gave his brother a sympathetic nod. "Take a deep breath and breathe in all that glorious New York ai-smog" he instructed. They walked on in silence for a bit before Finn thrust the handle of his suitcase to Kurt.

"Wait Kurt" Finn said as he spotted a flower stand and ran over and picked up two dozen pink roses.

Kurt shook his head at his brother the sap. Finn was wrestling with trying to carry the flowers, his suitcase, a back pack and a box that Kurt figured was actually his care package from Carole. "Do you plan on taking all of those to Callbacks with us" he asked as he grabbed the box and backpack from Finn.

"Oh shoot I forgot" Finn admitted. "I guess I'll just take one flower and leave the rest in the apartment" he said.

"Fair enough" he said as they reached the apartment. "Did you want to freshen up first" Kurt asked.

Finn looked at Kurt like he wasn't sure and then he noticed Kurt nodding as if to say "you better freshen up dude".

"Yeah I think I will" Finn said.

A few minutes later Kurt and Finn were walking the streets of New York again, on their way to Callbacks. Kurt practically had to jog to keep up with his brother.

When they got there, Kurt turned to Finn. "Ok here is the plan. You stand here like this, facing the street. I'll text Rachel. When she comes over I'll say her name like "Rachel" and then you turn around. And if she doesn't notice you right away…start singing to her or something" Kurt instructed.

"Ok Kurt" Finn laughed at his brothers' flair for all things dramatic.

Kurt took out his phone and texted Rachel. A few seconds later Finn heard Rachel's voice.

"Kurt, you're finally here. How's Blaine?" she said as she took his arm to pull him into the bar.

"Rachel" Kurt said and with that cue Finn turned around , his heart almost beating out of his chest when his eyes finally rested on her.

"Kurt" Rachel said, not understanding why her friend wasn't moving. He rolled his eyes upwards and then suddenly Kurt was pushed aside as Rachel let out an ear piercing scream and leapt into Finns arms so unexpectedly she almost sent them both flying back into the street.

"Miss me?" Finn said huskily, his voice cracking and tears welling up in his eyes as he revelled in Rachel, the scent of her perfume and shampoo mixing in his nostrils, the satin feel of the fabric of her white jacket beneath his hands and the beating of both of their hearts in his ears.

"You have no idea" Rachel said in between the hundreds of tiny kisses she smothered his face with.

Finn brought his hands up into her hair and brought their lips together finally.

"Get a room" Kurt stage whispered to the lovers in front of him.

Rachel sighed as she stopped kissing Finn and slid from his arms and back onto the floor. She took the crumpled rose from between them and held it up to her nose and inhaled it's scent as if it was the most perfect rose and not something that had just been squished between two lustful bodies. Finn groaned and looked at Kurt, wishing he had begged his brother to convince Rachel to stay in tonight. Rachel linked her arm through Finn's and they sauntered off towards a table in the back. She waved to the person at the table. "Look who I found" Rachel started, "Kurt and his brother Finn. Also known as my devastatingly handsome, super sexy, singer boyfriend" she continued.

"Rachel" Finn hissed, a blush creeping up his cheeks. He was fine with her thinking that of him, more than fine. And he loved it when she says it, but did she have to announce it to everyone in earshot and especially that dude at the table. "Hi I'm Finn" he said as he stuck his hand out to the guy at the table.

"Brody" the guy at the table replied as he shook Finn's hand. "Rachel and I are in the same dance class. Actually I am the TA. Good to see you again Kurt" he said as he shook Kurt's hand as well.

"Evening Brody" Kurt said politely as they all sat down.

"So you are a singer too? Are you going to sing with Rachel tonight" Brody asked Finn.

Finn was about to decline when Rachel said "Of course we are going to sing together. Gosh we haven't had the chance to sing together in so long. It's going to be like old times. What do you think we should sing Finn" she asked.

"What about you Kurt? Are you and Rachel going to Diva battle it out again tonight" Brody asked.

"I'm not sure I'm up to singing tonight" Kurt replied.

"Oh no, don't tell me you and Blaine had a fight" Rachel demanded.

"No, no. Things are great with Blaine and I. He even sent me some cookies with Finn" Kurt assured her.

"I think our song is going to be up soon Rachel" Brody announced.

"Oh good!" Rachel exclaimed. "Really Finn, what do you want to sing?" she asked.

"Actually Rach, I'm kind of tired from the long train ride. Can we sing together another time? I'd happily listen to you sing though" Finn admitted. "Sometimes when I am in the choir room or the auditorium alone, I can still hear you singing."

"Awe Finn, that's so sweet" Rachel said. "Oh, Brody that's us" Rachel said as the announcer called for the singers going up to sing Demi Lovato's song "Give Your Heart a Break". Rachel kissed Finn's cheek before walking up to the stage with Brody, and Finn noticed Brody put his hand on the small of Rachel's back and guide her through the crowd.

The song began and Finn smiled. His heart filled with pride for this beautiful woman on stage who he knew had more talent in her little finger than anyone else in the room. Her voice was exactly as he remembered it and when she looked at him he thought he couldn't feel any happier than he did at that moment. But then Rachel turned and looked at Brody on stage with her and they began to sing together and Finn felt like someone had just kicked him in the stomach. He felt like he couldn't breathe. The smokiness of the room choked his lungs and he started to almost hyperventilate a little as Kurt looked over at his brother worriedly. Finn just nodded his head in an "I'm ok" guesture to Kurt and looked back to the stage again hoping for something.

It wasn't like Finn thought Rachel would never sing with anyone else but him. And he had seen Rachel sing with others before, like Kurt, Blaine, Puck even. But this was different. Finn noticed when Brody started to sing, Rachel was still turned in facing him, looking at him, and her hand came up to the back of her neck the same way his did when he was nervous. Wait a minute, was she blushing. Finn shook his head. This had to be some terrible trick his eyes were playing on him. But this wasn't a trick, it was very real. And Finn couldn't fight the smirk that twisted at his lips or the tears that threatened to sting his eyes. He had in fact set Rachel free. And she was showing him just how free she was here without him. And it was beautiful and perfect and everything he ever wanted for her but it was a devastating blow to him.

Kurt looked at his brother who was watching Rachel sing on stage with Brody. This had been a terrible mistake. It was like watching Bruce Banner fight himself and not turn into the Hulk. Kurt gave Finn's knee a reassuring squeeze under the table. Kurt lived with Rachel, he saw her every day, he talked to her everyday and he heard her cry for his brother almost every night. He knew Rachel still loved his brother but to watch her on stage now, it was like she was some beautiful butterfly emerging from a cocoon. And Kurt could tell it was breaking his brother's heart in two. She might be singing about giving your heart a break, but she really wasn't. "Do you want to go home slugger" Kurt asked his brother.

Home. Lima. Yes Finn did think he wanted to go home at that particular moment but then he realised Kurt meant the apartment and he nodded not trusting his voice.

"Here" Kurt said pressing a key ring into his brother's hand. "Do you want me to come with you or wait for Rachel?" he asked.

"Wait for Rachel" Finn said, choking back a sob with each word. As he stood to leave, Kurt wrapped him in a hug.

"Do you remember how to get home?" Kurt inquired.

"Cab" Finn said and he turned and left as Rachel and Brody were being congratulated by everyone around.

"Where did Finn go?" Rachel asked when they sat down and she noticed he was missing.

"I think he was really tired Rachel, he went back to the apartment when your song was done" Kurt explained. "I gave him my key and he was going to take a cab so he wouldn't get lost" he added. "He wanted me to tell you you were great, both of you. And that he'll see you at home."

"Oh dear, I didn't even think how tired he must be" Rachel exclaimed. "We should go Kurt" she said. "Night Brody, thanks for the song."

"Night Rachel. I'd sing with you anytime" Brody said. "Good night Kurt."

As they walked home Kurt tried to figure out a way to explain to Rachel what he saw during the song. "Rachel" Kurt began, "I- I don't know, what exactly happened, what my brother saw during that song with you and Brody. But he went from being puffed up, full of pride, that special look he has always had reserved for you when you are singing, to looking like well, looking like how he did when he found out Quinn's baby was Puck's and not his. He looked shattered Rachel. Even more shattered than when he put you on that train alone" Kurt admitted.

"But that's silly Kurt" Rachel began. "How – I mean- why would he feel that way. Do you know how in love I am with him? Do you know how happy I am he is here right now?"

"I know, I know" Kurt admitted. "But I also know my brother and I know what I saw Rachel."

When they got back to their apartment, the rest of Rachel's roses were on the table, Finn was already in his pyjama's and he was curled up almost in the fetal position on Rachel's bed facing the wall. He had a photo of the two of them from the early days of New Directions clutched to his chest, his ear buds in with Faithfully on repeat and the pillow was wet with his tears. Rachel felt sadder than she had in a long time. She had no idea what to do so she just wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his cheek as removed his earbuds and whispered in his ear "Good night Finn. I love you and I am so glad you are here."

****A/N- ok so lots of cute text names here.**

**Lil Bro/ Big Brother is Kurt/Finn**

**LOML/Goldstar is Finn (LoveOfMyLife)/ Rachel**

**Cutie/Soulmate is Blaine/Kurt**

**"Give Your Heart a Break" is by Demi Lovato**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

****A/N- this was the hardest chapter so far for me to write-smut warning and I don't write it terribly well! It was also one of the shortest chapters until I let it be and looked to other forms of inspiration.**

Chapter 12- Return to Finchel

When Finn woke up Saturday morning, he felt disoriented and almost hung over. He didn't have a headache and the room wasn't spinning but his eyes were bloodshot, his throat dry and his stomach queasy. Opening his eyes further, he remembered he wasn't at home in Lima- he was in New York with Rachel and Kurt. Oh God, he thought, closing his eyes again, the duet with that Brody dude hadn't been some horrific dream after all. Finn lifted his head slightly off the pillow and looked at Rachel asleep beside him and let out a contented sigh. This was what he wanted, to wake up and see her beside him and before last night, he thought that was what she wanted too. He didn't specifically ask her to wait for him while he got his shit together but she loved him and he somehow thought she just would. Finn gently turned and propped himself up on one elbow and watched her sleep. Part of him wanted to just wrap her up in his arms and not let go but he didn't know if that was his place anymore.

Her eyes still closed, Rachel's left hand started to move across the bed, like it was looking for something. It came to rest on Finn's right arm. Her hand slid down his arm until her hand connected with his and then click, like turning a key in a lock and their fingers intertwined a perfect fit. He brought their hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles ever so softly. Rachel's eyelashes flickered and her eyes opened slowly adjusting to the light.

"Are you real" she whispered, her voice sleepy and sexy at the same time.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing" Finn whispered as he brought his face closer to hers and pressed their foreheads together.

"I'm sorry about last night" Rachel said.

"So am I" Finn admitted. "I had no idea that I would react so harshly to being replaced in that part of your life."

"Huh?"

"Sshh, let me finish" Finn whispered. "For as long as I have known you and loved you, and it seems like forever sometimes, but for that whole period of time it almost always been you and me on the same page, singing the same song, singing for each other, to each other. I love to hear you sing, I love when you sing to me. When you sing, your passion, your feelings, they always hit me right here" Finn explained as he brought their still intertwined fingers to cover his heart. "Last night, watching you sing with Brody, seeing the two of you share that passion, singing to each other, it still hit my heart but I was mad, crazy, jealous that he was getting it too. Because he does- he gets you Rachel. He's into you, I could see it clearly last night."

"He will never sing to me the way you sing to me Finn" Rachel explained. "I knew the first time we sang together, it touched me here too" she said bringing their hands to her heart this time. "And for everytime I've sung with Brody, all my heart has known was that I wished it was you" she said softly before gently kissing Finn on the lips.

It was a gentle kiss at first, a tender kiss of promise but weeks of being apart quickly turned a gentle kiss into a passionate one and Finn shifted his body weight, throwing one of his legs over hers and putting one arm behind her, imprisoning her tiny frame on the bed with his body without crushing her.

His lips left hers, trailing little kisses down her jaw and into her neck. "Oh God, Rachel" he moaned as he tasted the sweetness of her neck.

"Fiiinn" she whined as she let her head fall back, granting him more access to her neck. As Finn playfully kissed, licked and flicked at one of her earlobes with his tongue, Rachel arched her back under him, making her thinly clad t-shirted breasts rub against his own chest.

"Raa-ccchelll" Finn groaned as he brought his hands up to gently knead and massage her breasts through her shirt, gently gathering and pushing the t-shirt higher and higher on her body while he continued to kiss and lick across her collar bone.

Suddenly, Rachel's hands were tearing at his own t-shirt, pushing it up his body and over his head. It was still on his upper arms though, the bulk of the shirt now in his way so he briefly stopped what he was doing, looked Rachel straight in the eyes before whipping it down his arms, tossing it aside and giving his girlfriend an evil grin. But before he could continue what he was doing, she brought her lips to one of his nipples and gently kissed it before flicking it with her tongue a couple of times. Then she moved to the other side and this time she suckled him before lightly biting him. Finn lifted her shirt over her head and arms and threw it somewhere in the general direction of his before he began lavishing her breasts with his mouth. Soft moans escaped her throat as she arched her back and ground herself against him. Finn didn't know how much more he would be able to take and he stopped for a minute, silently willing himself to go slow and savour the moment.

Rachel used this pause to her advantage and was able to flip Finn onto the bed and straddle him, her naked breasts glowing in the early morning sun that was entering the bedroom though the opening in the curtains that acted as the walls and door in this loft. Finn quickly pulled her to him, shielding her from any prying eyes. "Rachel" he hissed, "Kurt doesn't need to see you like that" he exclaimed a blush creeping up his cheeks as he thought of his homosexual-slightly-younger brother catching a glimpse of Rachel's naked breasts.

Rachel leaned her forehead to Finn's they way they always did and simply said "Kurt left early this morning. He won't be back until we meet him for lunch. Or dinner" and then she laughed as she returned to her spot atop Finn and ground her hips into his to get her point across. For the tiniest of moments, Finn felt guilty for essentially banning his little brother from his home for the better part of the day. Then he felt Rachel move on top of him again and he no longer gave a flying fuck about Kurt. "Oh God, I love you Rachel Berry."

"I love you too Finn Hudson" Rachel said as she stretched herself out along his body and started kissing him on the mouth again with reckless abandon. Things quickly returned to a heated frenzy as Finn reached around and grabbed her ass with his hands before slipping them into the waistband of her shorts and pulling them down off her hips. While Rachel shifted her position to remove her shorts, Finn thrust a hand between them and his thumb found her pulsing nub of nerves. He stoked it a couple of times before slipping one, two then three fingers into her slick folds. "Damn Rach" he groaned as he felt how warm, wet and inviting she was.

"Uhhh Fiiinnn" she moaned as she bucked her hips against him making his fingers slide in and out of her at her own rhythm. Rachel slipped her hands inside the elastic of his boxers as Finn lifted his hips off the bed so she could slip them down his long legs. She reached in between them then and grabbed his swollen member and began to stroke him up and down slowly. He slipped his fingers from her then, and tangled his hands into her hair, bringing her head down to his and crushing their lips together. Rachel slipped her hand out from in between their bodies and ground her hips against his.

"Raacch" Finn said as a unspoken warning not to continue with that for the moment. He let his arm drop off the side of the bed while he blindly felt around for his jeans from last night and the foil packets he had tucked in there before he left the apartment- just in case. He had just pulled one out of his pocket he felt his phone vibrate near his hand and then signal a text message.

"Do you need to get that" Rachel panted at him.

"Ugh" he grunted and shook his head.

"What if it's important- your mom or Burt or Kurt" she said even more hurriedly than her normal rate of speech.

Finn turned his head to the side of the bed and Rachel attacked his neck with her mouth. He read the ID and groaned.

"Puck" he groaned as he dropped both the phone and the foil packet and had to blindly search again. His hand shot up in victory a moment later and Finn rolled them over so he could put the condom on. Then he positioned himself at her slick opening and thrust himself in slowly. When she had fully enveloped him in her warmth, Finn stopped again for a moment and steeled his resolve to not rush the process no matter how much they were both screaming for release. Each thrust, gyration, and stroke was deliberate as they enjoyed each other in a way they hadn't been able to for so long. When Rachel finally came, with Finn's name on her lips, it was like a beautiful melody that he knew only he would ever hear and the power of his own release frightened him. As they held tightly to each other, Finn was more determined than ever to get his shit together and figure out some way to get his ass to New York permanently and make Rachel proud of him.

It was much later that afternoon before Rachel and Finn finally met up with Kurt. They had taken the whole morning exploring each others bodies over and over again. And when Rachel had joined him in the shower, they had stayed in there until long after the water had run cold. They talked, they laughed, they sang- it was like old times. As Finn watched Rachel get dressed though, he was struck by how grown up she seemed to him now.

Kurt looked up and saw the striking couple crossing the street hand in hand in front of him and smiled. Sure there was a time when he was interested in Finn but that was before he set up his dad and Finn's mom who would later marry and make them step brothers. That was also before Rachel and Finn really became Rachel and Finn. It was also before Blaine. But Kurt knew, since the first time he heard Finn and Rachel sing together, that there was something magical between them. Not quite star crossed lovers or perfect soul mates destined to be together forever, but the "Finchel" relationship was every bit as dramatic as Rachel and to be fair, it wasn't always entirely of her own doing. Kurt loved them both deeply and hoped he never had to choose sides between them because he feared he wouldn't be able.

"Well look at this happy couple" Kurt said once they were within earshot. "Hopefully this time next year, all four of us will be here together taking things by storm" he sighed wistfully.

Finn nodded as she smiled down at Rachel.

"So Finn" Kurt began, "tell us all the news. How are things at home? Blaine said Mr Shue named you a co-director of the New Directions."

"Yeah I'm helping Wil-Mr Shue with the New Directions and Coach Bieste with the football team a bit too. Burt's got me working at the shop too and I'm taking a couple of classes at LCC" Finn said.

"Finn, that's wonderful, why didn't you tell me?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"About what?" Finn asked puzzled.

"Your classes at the college, co director, everything" she said. "But does that mean you are staying in Lima until at least next fall?" Rachel pouted.

"I don't know" Finn said honestly. "I guess I am staying in Lima until the winter semester starts for sure, but it's probably going to be until at least summer. Are you guys planning on staying here in New York or coming home for the summer?" he asked.

"I want to come home, especially if you are there" Rachel said "but we're trying to figure out a way we can afford to keep the loft for next year if we do come home for the summer."

"I don't see why I couldn't stay on a Vogue through the summer" Kurt said. "But I'd like to be come home and see Blaine too, unless he comes here early. Plus if Rachel goes home, I can't afford the loft by myself all summer."

Finn nodded. Kurt and Rachel had good points. Finn still felt like he didn't know where he would be in January, let alone next May or September.

"Oh" Finn said as he remembered something that maybe they hadn't heard yet.

"So there are some new members to glee club but one of them is Puck's half brother. Oh and Wade, you remember Wade right Kurt?"

"Shut up" Kurt said. "How is Unique fitting in? Is there lots of slushie facials?"

"Actually there hadn't been a one until Thursday. Then they got Sara. I was right there and I didn't even see it coming until it was too late" Finn said with frown.

"Sara is one of the new girls?" Rachel asked.

"No, actually Sara- Miss Walsh- is a student teacher at McKinley. She teaches English with Mr Thayer. She wanted to help out with a drama club or something like that but since we don't have one and Glee club does the musical, she is helping Wil- Mr Shue and I."

"Oh, Blaine mentioned a Miss Walsh. I just didn't know her first name" Kurt said tight lipped. Actually, Kurt knew quite a bit about Sara Walsh already. Blaine had essentially sworn Kurt to secrecy as he divulged some of the texts he and Finn had been sharing about Miss Walsh. Of course when Kurt had come to NYC, he made Blaine promise to keep his eyes on Finn who was still devastated over having sent Rachel away even though it was his idea and what he thought was best for her. So far though, things seemed pretty harmless to Blaine and Kurt, who saw most of Finn's public interactions with Sara Walsh as pretty typical considering Finn's big heart although sometimes misguided need to make everyone around him happy.

"Yeah, she even had me calling her Miss Walsh too thinking I was just another student at McKinley. But then Mr Shue told me to start calling him Will when we were working together without the others around and Sara apologized and so we're kind of on a first name basis now" Finn explained somewhat haphazardly.

"So anyhow, Puck- Shit Puck!" Finn exclaimed as he dug out his phone remembering his friend had texted him earlier and he hadn't read it or responded yet.

"Did you develop Tourettes or something brother?" Kurt deadpanned.

"No," Finn said as he scrolled through his messages, "Puck texted me earlier and I forgot." Finn looked at Rachel who looked down at her feet and turned the prettiest shade of red.

"Like I was saying" Finn continued, "Puck has come back from LA and is getting to know his half brother, Jake who is in Glee club." Finn was quiet for a moment as he read the text from his friend. "Looks like he might have a new girl too, he went on a date last night and he wants to know how I- Well never mind what he wants, it's just dumb Puck humour."

"Maybe we can do a double or triple lunch date when we come home for you party in a couple of weeks" Rachel suggested.

"If it lasts that long" Kurt said with an eye roll. "Noah "Puck" Puckerman is a man whore if there was one. Just sayin'."

"Kurt" Finn chided his brother.


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

****A/N: The next two chapters do not have a single Glee character in them. They are also mostly told from the point of view of a flashback and tell the backstory of my OC Sara and feature another OC Billy. **

Chapter13- Looking Back

"Sara" Emily Murphy called outfor her neice on Saturday morning.

"Hey Aunt Em. What's up?" Sara asked as she walked into the kitchen where you aunt was sitting at the kitchen table looking at a laptop.

"I'm just finalizing my travel plans and I wanted to make sure you haven't changed your mind" Emily said as she looked up at her niece.

Sara bristled slightly and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"I just can't Aunt Emily" she shook her head. "I can't leave while I am doing my student teaching, even if just for a weekend and I just- I can't" Sara tried to explain.

Emily grabbed her neice's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe next time" she said. "Or should I cancel my trip? I don't want to leave you alone on your birthday" she explained.

"No Aunt Em, you go" Sara reassured her aunt. "I'm going to go up to UT for the weekend and spend it with Christie and the gang. I won't be alone. Oh, that reminds me though, Chad is coming down for a visit next weekend too. I said it was ok for him to stay here with us as long as he stays in the guest room" Sara looked at her aunt with a smile.

"That's fine" Emily replied and went back to finalizing her travel plans on her laptop.

Sara walked back down the hall to her room and pulled the door closed behind her before locking it. She went to the closet and pulled down a box that was tucked away on the back of the shelf. Sara sat crossed leg on the floor with the box in her lap and opened it. Inside the box was filled with photos, letters and cards. Sara took a handful of photos out and looked through them until she found the one she was looking for. The picture was of a young girl and boy stitting together on a set of steps outside a house. The boy had a skateboard propped up against his leg. She flipped it over and read the back.

_Sara and Billy_

_September 2003_

_Sara nervously looked at her feet after she got out of her parents car. It was her first day at a new school and she didn't know a single person. She looked around and compared what she was wearing to what the other girls had on. She suddenly felt like she was not wearing the right clothes. Most of the other girls were wearing black lowrise jeans and black or dark shirts. Many of them had dark straight hair, some with bold streaks of color like blue, purple or pink. They wore a lot of dark eye makeup and dark lipstick. Sara looked down at her own attire- carmel cowboy boots, a knee length denim skirt and a slightly fitted pink sweater. She was also wearing a gold heart locket necklace and heart shaped gold earings. Sara had a feeling this was a terrible start to the year. _

"_At least you look like a girl and not a vampire" a voice behind her said. Sara turned around and found herself looking up into a stunning pair of green eyes. "Hi I'm Billy Moore" the green eyes said with a twinkle. "You're new here, aren't you" he continued._

_Sara nodded. "Hi, I'm Sara Walsh" she said as she stuck out her hand to shake his. _

_Billy shook her hand and Sara took a moment to take him all in. He was taller than she was but that wasn't too difficult, but he was shorter than most boys their age. He had an interesting haircut that was shaved close in the back, long and flipped over one side kind of hanging in his face and short on the other side. He was wearing baggy jeans (although not as baggy as some of the other boys), a long green tee shirt and black and white checkered skateboard shoes. He even had a skateboard in one hand and his back pack slung over one shoulder. _

_From that first day of junior high, Billy and Sara would be inseparable. They soon discovered they lived in a similar area of town and Billy would always pick her up in the morning and walk her home and stop in at least for a snack after school, if he didn't stay to do homework and have dinner. Sara's parents loved Billy Moore and if Sara was out with Billy her curfew was always just a bit later. On times when they were hanging out at their house, Mr and Mrs Walsh would gladly let Billy stay until just before his own curfew when they would offer him a ride home even though Billy's curfew was often later than Sara's. Sara and Billy would eat lunch together and on the weekends they would hang out quite a bit. Sara never did get skateboarding but she would sit and watch him and listen to her walkman until he was ready to walk her home. And then they would talk and talk and talk for hours, about everything and anything. The other kids mercilessly teased them about being boyfriend and girlfriend but Billy and Sara never admitted any of those types of feelings to each other back then. They would go to school dances together and dance to the fast songs and sit out all the slow ones until the very last song of the night when Billy would pull Sara out onto the floor and dance with her so that her last thoughts at the dance were happy ones. _

Sara stood up and grabbed a tissue and wiped at her eyes. Her face was soaked with tears and her body still heaving from their sobs. Sara sat back down with the box and flipped to another picture. She hadn't thought about Billy in a long time but that was on purpose. In this picture Billy was 16 and Sara 15. It was the end of July and she was sitting on the roof of a car. Billy was standing beside her. He had grown over the years and was quite a bit taller than Sara now. His hair was different from the first picture, now equally long on both sides and parted down the middle. He and Sara both wore glasses now. He didn't skateboard all the time anymore, in fact hardly ever, but Sara knew he still liked to.

_Sara and Billy_

_July 2007_

_Things didn't change too much once they went to high school. They started datin__g (not each other) and so their time was a little more limited but they still made time for each other. Billy played sports, mostly football and some track and Sara joined the drama department. It wasn't that they didn't share romantic feelings for each other, it was just the timing was never right. When Billy got his licence he would drive them to and from school every day in his moms' car. They ate lunch together twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays. If they were dating other people, they invited them to join them, but it was an unwritten rule that they would never break their lunch date with each other. At high school dances, they would dance together to fast songs, and Billy would always request one slow song (but never dedicate it) and take Sara out and hold her close._

_It was the beginning of junior year when Billy and Sara started to play "Let's Pretend". They were sitting in Billy's moms' car in Sara's yard afterschool one October afternoon. Billy had been dating Natasha Leory since the first week of school. Natasha had volleyball practice that day and Billy would go pick her up from school later. "Do you want to play a game?" Billy asked Sara. _

"_Sure. What kind of game? Do you want me to go get a deck of cards?" Sara replied._

"_No. This is more of a talking game. It's called Let's Pretend" Billy explained. _

"_Who do you think the most popular couple at school is?" he asked._

_Sara paused for a moment and thought. "Jack Williams and Jeri Fink" she replied._

_Billy nodded his agreement in her assessment. "How do you think they first got together? How did he first ask her out?" Billy inquired._

_So Sara made up a story about the first time Jack had asked Jeri out. And then Sara and Billy pretended to be Jack and Jeri and he asked her out exactly the way Sara told the story. It seemed weird but the more they played the crazier they got. Sometimes they would pretend to be people they didn't even know. A couple in a park, a fictional couple from a movie or tv, or a couple from a book. _

_By Christmas that year, Billy was still dating Natasha and Sara was seeing a basketball player named Trent Davis. It was the first afternoon of Christmas break and Billy came over with a little bunch of mistletoe. "Let's pretend…" Billy began. "Let's pretend there is no Natasha and no Trent. We're just Billy and Sara like always and I've brought mistletoe. What do you do?" _

_Sara looked at Billy like he had two heads. _

"_C'mon SayRay" he said using a nick name he had given her back in 8__th__ grade when they had made up their own language like Pig Latin. Sara laughed and chastely kissed him on the cheek. "What am I your brother?" he teased. _

_Then Sara kissed him on the lips, for the first time other than a handful of awkward spin the bottle moments at parties in junior high. "Mmm, that was better" Billy admitted "but what about like this?" And with that Billy dropped the mistletoe and pulled Sara close and kissed her. When he ran his tongue over her lips to deepen the kiss, she eagerly opened to him and her legs almost gave out in pleasure. Billy walked her backwards towards the couch in her basement and lay them out on it, never breaking the kiss. They spent several hours kissing, petting, panting, grinding against each other. When Billy went home that afternoon, Sara's lips were bruised and swollen and she had 3 visible and 1 not so visible hickeys. Billy phoned her later than night and convinced her that there was no reason for them to tell Natasha and Trent because it was just a Christmas kiss that got a little out of hand and Sara thought Billy made perfect sense._

_Trent broke up with Sara after Christmas once her help with his homework increased his English grade enough that he was no longer on academic probation. Sara was crushed when she realized what had really been going on. From then on, whenever Sara and Billy played "Let's Pretend" there was a lot of kissing going on but they never did pretend to be just themselves again- until grad weekend, senior year._

Sara stumbled onto the next photo. It had been taken the night of grad. Billy had an arm around Sara's waist and she had both of hers around him. He was wearing a medium grey suit with a purple vest and tie. His hair was cut short, almost spikey and had been since the day before homecoming of senior year. Sara's hair was the longest it had been in her life, almost reaching her waist when it was down. But that night it was pilled high on her head in a mess of ringlet curls. Sara was wearing a teal dress that had two thin straps that became a web of straps over her whole back, exposing more skin than she ever had before. The dress was long with a full skirt and had a shimmer to it. And when the light would catch it the right way, Sara's dress looked a purple color and matched Billy's vest and tie quite nicely. They were both wearing contacts that night and Sara had on the highest high heels she had ever worn.

_Sara and Billy_

_May 2009_

_Natasha and Billy broke up at the end of junior year and Billy and Sara had a whole summer where they were each unattached. But Sara went on a family vacation with her parents and she and Billy only got to see each other for two weeks the whole summer. One week at the beginning and one at the end. Senior year started awkwardly for Sara and Billy. They were both unattached, they felt like they had been dating for years already, plus they had had some pretty serious makeout sessions while playing "Let's Pretend". By homecoming though, Billy had begun dating Maggie Bloom and Sara started seeing Ben Cooper, Billy's best friend. Billy and Sara continued to play "Let's Pretend but the making out was not as frequent as before. They often talked about instead what future choices couples would make. Would they sleep together at grad? Would they go off to the same schools together after high school? If they didn't go to the same schools or to the same cities, would they stay together? _

_The night of Grad Sara, Ben, Maggie and Billy met at Sara's house. Sara had invited Maggie to come get dressed at her place with her, but Maggie already had a hair appointment, manicure and a facial booked so that left Sara to get ready on her own. Billy kept texting her while she was getting ready. Silly things like 'should have gotten different shoes', 'do I need new socks', 'pickin up the flowers' and finally 'stuffing my pockets with condoms in case tonight is the night- just fyi.' Sara knew Billy hadn't slept with Maggie yet and was hoping tonight would be the night. She wasn't a hundred percent positive but she thought he hadn't slept with Natasha either so it was possible if Maggie let him, it would be Billy's first time- unless he had hooked up with someone briefly during the summer while Sara was away. Sara thanked her lucky stars she hadn't slept with Trent although she thought she might and she hadn't slept with Ben either but he was hoping she would soon. _

_Billy was the first to arrive at Sara's house that night. He had a bouquet of flowers and a corsage for Maggie. Billy was so early that Sara still had some of her ringlet curls wrapped in strips of cotton, was wearing her bathrobe and had no makeup on when she answered the door. He looked so amazing that Sara flew into his arms right on her doorstep forgetting her state of undress. Billy had laughed and told her only she could pull off the rollers and bathrobe look for grad and she had pulled him into the house. He followed her up to her room and helped her untie the rest of her curls. He waited while she slipped into the bathroom to put on her dress and let out a low whistle when she returned. Then Billy helped Sara tighten and tie the web like straps at the back of her dress. When she turned around she fished into Billy's pockets dispite his protests but came up empty. He patted the chest pocket of his coat then, knowing what Sara had been hunting for. Sara had blushed a deep shade of crimson then before turning to sit down in front of her vanity. She applied her makeup while Billy sat on her bed and watched and recounted the dozens of dances they had been to in their years as friends. "What song should I request for us tonight Sara?" Billy asked. Sara thought for just a second before she turned to look back to him. "Need you now" and Billy smiled. It had been their song all year- it only seemed appropriate. _

_Sara and Billy went downstairs after that. Billy surprised her by giving her the bouquet of flowers "Hey, we have to celebrate 6 years of friendship and finally making it to high school graduation. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell you how awesome you are" he said._

"_You're pretty awesome too" Sara said to Billy as she threw her arms around his waist and her mom snapped yet another picture. _

_They all had an amazing time at dinner before the dance and the dj they had hired made it easy to dance the night away. There were lots of people with cameras and the pictures Sara's parents had taken were just the beginning. There had been group shots and singles and candids and posed. Some just for personal memories, others for the yearbook, and some that Sara knew would make it into the graduation montage in a couple of weeks. As the night was going on, Sara had begun to think perhaps Billy had forgotten their song and she was feeling a little down. Ben was trying to coax her to leave with him before the dance ended and go somewhere alone, but Sara wasn't ready to leave just yet. She hadn't seen Billy in a while though and thought perhaps he and Maggie had slipped away already._

_Sara heard the unmistakable first few beats of their song and she immediately began to look for him. Suddenly Sara felt a familiar pair of hands over her eyes and Billys voice warm in her ear as her hands flew up to his. "I believe this is my dance" he said before he spun her around to face him. Billy took her one hand in his, put his hand on the small of her back as they began to two step around the gym. _

"_I'm exhausted" Sara said as she looked up at Billy. Billy stopped them then and just wrapped his arms around Sara._

"_Just lean against me a sway then, we don't have to dance" he said. "I just want to be with you like this one more time."_

"_This is really the end isn't it" Sara asked as she choked back a sob._

"_This is the end of high school, Sara" Billy admitted. "And I don't know what our futures hold, but I won't let this be the end of us. I just don't know when we'll have a night like this again."_

_Sara nodded, she understood what he meant. There would be no more dances, maybe they'd be in different cities in a couple of months, who knew yet. She rested her head against his chest and realized she was laying on his pocket of condoms and she gave a little laugh and he kissed the top of her head. When the song was over Billy looked down at her thoughtfully. "Are you going to be ok if Maggie and I take off?" he asked._

_Sara smiled, "yeah I think Ben wants to leave too. Talk to you tomorrow" she asked hopefully. _

"_You got it SayRay" he said with a smile as he left her on the dance floor and went off to look for his own date. _


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

****A/N: This chapter does not have a single Glee character in it. It is also mostly told from the point of view of a flashback and tell the backstory of my OC Sara and feature another OC Billy.**

Chapter 14- Photograph

Sara woke up on the floor of her bedroom, the contents of the box, long since tipped onto the floor. Her eyes still felt gritty from crying and her throat sore from the sobbing. It had been the first time since she had been in Ohio that she had looked through the box though and although painful, Sara knew it had been a long time coming. Sara started putting the contents back in the box but she kept out the last photograph she had been looking at- the one of her and Billy from grad weekend. She tucked it into the bottom corner of her mirror. It was ok to remember the happy times. It was ok to pretend the bad ones didn't happen.

Sara pulled a disk from the pile of spilt contents. She had forgotten about this. On the front cover were 3 words "Happy Birthday Sara" and on the back was a track listing, all scrawled in Billy's handwriting. She looked at the track listing and realized she had never really gotten a chance to look the cd over or even listen to it. She popped the cd out and put it in her stereo. The first song was Taylor Swift's Fifteen and Sara listened to it as she put more items back in the box. She came across another couple of photos and put them on her dresser face down, not sure what to do with them yet. When everything else was back in the box, Sara tucked it safely away in the top of the closet again. By then the second and third songs had finished and Sara found herself listening to Fishing in the Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. She recalled with a smile how in junior high phys ed class they had to learn how to two step and line dance to this song. Sara found the steps came back rather quickly- like riding a bicycle something you just didn't forget as she danced around her room.

Next was a song named Dust on the Bottle and Sara was not sure she had ever heard it before. She listened to the lyrics and liked the song almost instantly. She went back to the photograph in the corner of her mirror now and let more of the memories wash over her.

_Sara and Billy_

_May2009_

_It was late when his text came. _

_**BILLY: r u up**_

_**SARA: yes**_

_**BILLY: at home? alone?**_

_**SARA: yes x2**_

_**BILLY: want me to come over- it's tomorrow already **_

_**SARA: sure**_

_Sara had been home for a while. She had left with Ben and they had gone back to his house- his parents weren't there. After some serious making out though, Sara didn't feel right anymore and asked Ben to take her home. She knew Ben was upset with her but Sara didn't know that Billy had essentially threatened Ben; "if you don't treat her with the respect and care she deserves, I'll beat the snot out of you". Sara had come home, told her parents what a nice time she had had and went up to her room and her parents, no longer waiting for her, had followed suit. She removed her shoes and jewellery and put them away. She washed her face and had started to take her hair down when Billy had sent his text. By the time she got all the pins out of her hair, Billy was sitting in her driveway._

_**BILLY: here**_

_**SARA: I'll come let u in**_

_Sara crept out of her room, down the hall past her parents room, down the stairs and opened the door. Without her shoes, Sara had to hold up the ends of her dress so she wouldn't trip. Gone was Billy's tie and jacket. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and the top thee buttons undone. His shoes had been replaced by his sneakers. She motioned for Billy to follow her and she led him downstairs to the basement where they often hung out. _

_Sara looked at Billy expectantly as she sat on the couch facing him,one leg tucked under herself and the fullness of her skirt. "So did you and Maggie…?" she trailed off hoping Billy would know what she was saying._

_Billy shook his head. "Nah, it didn't feel right. You know I'm not really that kind of guy just to do it for the sake of doing it."_

_Sara nodded her head. Billy was a good guy. People were always telling her so and she knew it too. _

"_Did you and Ben-" Billy asked but Sara stopped him before he could finish._

"_No. It wasn't right I couldn't do it" she admitted. For a second Sara thought she saw a flicker of something in Billy's eyes but as quick as she saw it, it was gone. _

"_Did you have a good time tonight though?" Billy asked._

"_A really good time" Sara nodded._

"_Me too" Billy said. He rested his head on the back of the couch like he was trying to rest. In truth, Billy was having a conversation in his head and trying to will himself to have this conversation with Sara. He raised his head after a few minutes of silence and looked at Sara, "Sara, let's pretend."_

_Sara's eyes widened in surprise, "you secretly wanted to be named King tonight didn't you" she charged trying to lighten the mood that seemed to be very serious all of a sudden._

_Billy shook his head and looked down at his feet not able to look at Sara. "No. Let's pretend for a moment, that there was no Maggie, no Ben. Let's pretend for a moment that I wasn't too chicken shit to ask the one girl I'm crazy about to the dance tonight. Let's pretend I didn't waste the moment I've been thinking about for the last 3 years" he sighed. _

"_I don't think I understand" Sara started, "who did you want to be at the dance with. Why didn't you ask her?" She couldn't think of a single girl Billy had shown interest in this year other than Maggie and she for sure didn't know anyone Billy could have been secretly pining for, unless- ._

_Ben looked up at Sara then, stopping her mid thought when his green eyes found hers. "You" he said almost so quietly she didn't hear him. _"_Let's pretend I had asked you. Would you have said yes?" he asked._

"_Of course I would have" Sara said as she smiled in realization._

"_Do you think we would have had a good time?" Billy questioned._

"_The best time," Sara replied with a smile as she grabbed for his hand and interlaced their fingers._

"_Better than we had tonight?" Ben inquired._

"_How could we not?" Sara explained._

"_Would you dance with me again" Billy asked as he stood and offered his hand to help her up._

"_There is no music, silly" Sara said._

"_We don't need music" he explained. "Lean against me and sway, just like tonight. I just want- need to hold you right now."_

_Sara let him pull her up and into his arms. They swayed to an imaginary song for a long time before Billy leaned down and started to cover her face in light little kisses. "Do you think, if things had happened like that, if we had been together, would we have" Billy swallowed hard before continuing, "made love tonight?"_

_Sara felt her cheeks burn at the intensity and intimacy of his question. She looked up at him and put a hand on his cheek making him look her in the eyes as she responded. "Yes, I have no doubt."_

_Billy barely let her finish before he brought his lips to hers, crushing them fiercely and kissing Sara more passionately then he ever had kissed someone before. _

_When they broke for air, Sara looked at Billy with hooded, lust filled eyes. "Let's pretend" she began before he interrupted her._

"_Fuck pretending Sara" he said with an exasperated sigh, "I love you. I'm in love with you. I'm pretty sure you are in love with me too. And right now, I just want to be with you and show you just how much I love you" he said before kissing her again and backing them up towards the couch. _

_When their kissing broke again Sara looked at Billy before turning her back to him and lifting her hair, piling it high on her head. "I could use some help getting out of this" Sara murmured over her shoulder to Billy. _

_Billy untied and loosened each of the straps weaved across Sara's back. Every time his fingers brushed her bare skin there was an electric current that passed between them. When he had finished, Sara turned around to him with one arm against her body, holding up her dress. _

"_Oh, your jacket" Sara murmured, remembering what was in his chest pocket._

"_Don't worry sweet Say-Ray" Billy began as he fished into his back pocket and pulled out what Sara was looking for. "I love you and I would never hurt you" he promised. _

_With that, Sara let her dress drop to the floor in front of Billy. He gasped as he took in the sight before him. "God Sara, you're beautiful" he whispered before he pulled her close and kissed her again, lowering their bodies onto the couch._

Sara wiped at her eyes, brimmed with tears. Quite a few songs had played while she had remembered that night with Billy. Now her speakers were pumping the sounds of a Nickelback song, Photograph, into her room as she fell back onto her bed, singing along just a little.

**Look at this photograph****  
****Everytime I do it makes me laugh****  
****How did our eyes get so red****  
****And what the hell is on Joey's head**

**And this is where I grew up****  
****I think the present owner fixed it up****  
****I never knew we'd ever went without****  
****The second floor is hard for sneaking out**

**And this is where I went to school****  
****Most of the time had better things to do****  
****Criminal record says I broke in twice****  
****I must have done it half a dozen times**

**I wonder if it's too late****  
****Should i go back and try to graduate****  
****Life's better now than it was back then****  
****If I was them I wouldn't let me in**

**Oh, oh, oh****  
****Oh, god, I**

**Every memory of looking out the back door****  
****I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
****Goodbye, goodbye.****  
****Every memory of walking out the front door****  
****I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
****Goodbye, goodbye.**

**Remember the old arcade****  
****Blew every dollar that we ever made****  
****The cops hated us hangin' out****  
****They say somebody went and burned it down**

**We used to listen to the radio****  
****And sing along with every song we know****  
****We said someday we'd find out how it feels****  
****To sing to more than just the steering wheel**

**Kim's the first girl I kissed****  
****I was so nervous that I nearly missed****  
****She's had a couple of kids since then****  
****I haven't seen her since god knows when**

**Oh, oh, oh****  
****Oh, god, I**

**Every memory of looking out the back door****  
****I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
****Goodbye, goodbye.****  
****Every memory of walking out the front door****  
****I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
**

**Goodbye, goodbye.**

**I miss that town****  
****I miss the faces****  
****You can't erase****  
****You can't replace it****  
****I miss it now****  
****I can't believe it****  
****So hard to stay****  
****Too hard to leave it**

**If I could I relive those days****  
****I know the one thing that would never change**

**Every memory of looking out the back door****  
****I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
****Goodbye, goodbye.****  
****Every memory of walking out the front door****  
****I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for****  
****It's hard to say it, time to say it****  
****Goodbye, goodbye.**

**Look at this photograph****  
****Everytime I do it makes me laugh****  
****Everytime I do it makes me...**

****A/N: the song is Photograph by Nickelback- must have listened to it a hundred times while writing this chapter. **


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 15-

Sunday evening found Finn boarding a train back to Lima. Kurt had walked him to the station again, Rachel and Finn agreed they didn't want a big public goodbye. It was excruciating to walk away from her again even though he knew she'd be back in Lima in just a few weeks. Beyond that, Finn didn't know when he would see her again; Thanksgiving or maybe not until Christmas. Not wanting to dwell on that thought Finn took out his phone and texted Puck.

**MAVERICK: sorry dude for not answering earlier kinda been busy in nyc **

**WINGMAN: whoops! forgot u were visiting did u have a good time**

**MAVERICK: pretty good until I had to leave again this sucks**

**WINGMAN: how excited was Rachel when u got there**

**MAVERICK: so excited she rushed me and almost knocked me flat on my ass**

**WINGMAN: lol**

**MAVERICK: it was weird though to see her there though its totally where she should be right now she loves it and it loves her too its like she is more confident and sure of herself than Ive ever seen its weird to think she can be so great with out me**

**WINGMAN: were u expecting her to be more of a mess or to be aching to come home or something**

**MAVERICK: I don't know what I was expecting I just know Im pretty messed up still have zero motivation and direction other than Rachel but its almost like it doesn't phase her**

**WINGMAN: u think shes moved on**

**MAVERICK: no I don't think so I could tell she misses me as much as I miss her and she wants me to join them soon but I guess she is just better at pushing that aside than I am anyhow u were texting me and interrupting my weekend looking for advice u said u had a hot date friday who was it with**

**WINGMAN: zena**

**MAVERICK: like zena the warrior princess**

**WINGMAN: yeah**

**MAVERICK: wow where'd you meet her like in la**

**WINGMAN: what**

**MAVERICK: zena**

**WINGMAN: im talking about old lady murphys neice**

**MAVERICK: I thought u were talking about zena**

**WINGMAN: I am**

**MAVERICK: wait she's zena like for real**

**WINGMAN: no**

**MAVERICK: but her name is zena**

**WINGMAN: no, well I don't know but I call her Zena she didn't seem to want to tell me her real name and get this she calls me NOAH**

**MAVERICK: oh dude that's bad **

**WINGMAN: I know right Im toast**

**MAVERICK: so what did u guys do**

**WINGMAN: went to see the new zombie flic put my best moves on her at the theatre too and I thought they were going to work too but she quickly put a halt to it**

**MAVERICK: how**

**WINGMAN: so I had my arm around her and then she put her hand on my thigh and as my hand inched closer to her hers inched closer to me and I thought jackpot but then she told me she wasn't that kind of girl and I think she threatened my junk anyhow mood killer and I just held her fuckin hand the rest of the night**

**MAVERICK: ouch**

**WINGMAN: yeah and then the good night kiss she kissed me like how you'd kiss your brother**

**MAVERICK: double ouch**

**WINGMAN: which is where you come in what do I do if Im going to keep seeing her**

**MAVERICK: u want to keep seeing her**

**WINGMAN: dude she is smoking hawt**

**MAVERICK: then I guess you just gotta take care of business before your dates and maybe after too**

**WINGMAN: what about during the date**

**MAVERICK: let her lead and if you have to think about cold showers, slushies to your junk, stuff like that**

**WINGMAN: gah slushies! I swear after we started getting slushie facials when we joined glee club I didn't want to give them anymore- who knew what a pain they would be**

**MAVERICK: I know and it had been so long since we'd had one I almost forgot what to do the other day**

**WINGMAN: dude you got a slushie facial at McKinley**

**MAVERICK: no I was talking to Sara the student teacher and she got one right in front of me**

**WINGMAN: then what**

**MAVERICK: then I pulled her into the staff bathroom and helped clean her up she was a mess**

**WINGMAN: I remember Rachel helped clean me up once it was nice**

**MAVERICK: dude that's my girlfriend remember**

**WINGMAN: u were with Quinn then so don't get your panties in a twist**

**MAVERICK: ok**

**WINGMAN: even if she has a stick up her ass and dresses like an old biddy no one deserves a slushie facial**

**MAVERICK: yeah I don't think my first impressions of her were very accurate shes relaxed and letting me call her Sara now she thought I was a student is all plus Blaine gave her some fashion advice and on Friday your younger brother apparently said she looked good or so says Blaine**

**WINGMAN: so mr lady hummel has himself his own real life dress up Barbie now does he**

**MAVERICK: puck u know I don't like it when u talk about kurt and blaine like that**

**WINGMAN: sorry dude so is there something going on with you and this teacher**

**MAVERICK: u mean sara**

**WINGMAN: yeah it seems like maybe u r into her a little bit**

**MAVERICK: hello remember Rachel my girlfriend**

**WINGMAN: yeah who lives 14 hours away and now you are spending time and working with someone who is obviously already figured out some of your buttons to push and that a puckerman has given the 'goood' seal of approval**

**MAVERICK: u r nuts we r just friends**

**WINGMAN: friends**

**MAVERICK: more like co workers really not friends**

**WINGMAN: yeah you keep telling yourself that cause Im not buying it until I see it with my own eyes**

**MAVERICK: whatever dude its late I should try to get a little sleep on this train I have to meet with will and sara before glee tomorrow afternoon**

**WINGMAN: so does Shue play chaperone to the two of you**

**MAVERICK: shut up dork good night**

**WINGMAN: night dude **

Finn stood in line at the Lima Bean waiting to order a large coffee to go. He didn't sleep well on the train, and had instead spent a lot of time on itunes listening to clips of songs and trying to figure out something that might make their set list for Sectionals. Finn still had a couple of hours before he could crash at home again plus he had a meeting with Will and Sara and then a glee club meeting. Finn looked down at the email Will Shuester had sent him over the weekend and thought about his text conversation with Puck. There was no way Finn could do a duet with Sara, it would just add fuel to Puck's flameless fire.

_Finn,_

_Hope you are having a great time in New York and it isn't to hard to be in the place you thought you would be a short couple of months ago. Just wanted to let you know the glee agenda for the week- I picked an 80's theme (I know you are shocked!) and have assigned some of the best hits of each year of the decade to the kids. Our group number will be That's What Friends Are For. I'd like you to tackle Prince's power hit When Doves Cry. I gave Sara a song selection also (Every Breath You Take by The Police) but she still seems hesitant to sing in front of all of us. I wouldn't object to the two of you turning your song into a duet (or hers for that matter but you just sang Sting last week). I'll leave that up to you two to figure out on your own. _

_Don't forget the three of us are meeting before Glee Club in the choir room. Have any thoughts for a sectional set list yet?_

_Will_

Instead of having lunch with Will, Emma and Shannon like she had been, Sara spent her lunch hour in the library gathering lyrics and songs onto her laptop. After listening to the cd she had found in her box of memories from home, Sara had been trying to come up with some songs for Sectionals and maybe a fun mashup as a group number for when she was in charge next week. Sara already had her theme picked but was keeping it underwraps. She had a little surprise up her sleeve too. It helped to know she could think about home without completely falling apart.

Afterschool Sara met Will Shuester in the choir room. She looked around and discovered Finn hadn't arrived yet and that was probably for the best since she didn't exactly want an audience while she begged to be released from singing this week. "Hi Will" she said as she walked in and put down her bag near a stool by the piano. "Can we talk about my assignment for this week" she asked.

"Sure Sara" Will replied. "What's up?"

"First of all, great song choice, I really do like it. It's just- I'm nervous. I'm not sure about singing in front of everyone. I don't think I am there yet" she continued as she sat down on a stool. "I mean you can ask Finn. He caught me singing in here last week and when I discovered someone was listening I puked my guts out. I'm ok in a group, can I please do something else" Sara pleaded.

"You really puked" Will asked incredulously before continuing when Sara nodded. "You know no one is going to judge you. This group is pretty understanding and accepting."

"It is, and that is a testament to you as their director Will" Sara admitted. "But the talent, it's amazing and I'm feeling like the new kid and all kinds of inadequate. So until I can prove myself a bit more, I'd rather not sing alone."

"Well I did suggest to Finn in an email that maybe the two of you could work on his song as a duet" Will suggested. "And I thought his song might be a better choice since he sang Sting last week and the song I gave you was The Police. But you guys will have your work cut out for you if Finn agrees, because I would like you to perform tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. "

"Sure, that is understandable" Sara admitted. "I'm sure we can pull something together. Finn is just as talented as any of the kids. So what song did you give Finn" she asked.

Finn walked through the choir door at that moment, tall cup of coffee in his hand and backpack flung over his shoulder. He put his coffee down and rubbed his eyes while trying to stifle a yawn before speaking. "Sorry, up most of the night on the train" Finn offered as an explanation as he sat down on a stool. "I've been assigned When Doves Cry."

"Sara is feeling apprehensive about singing alone" Will began "so I suggest you guys work it out as a duet. I hope you haven't put too much into it yet" Will said.

"Truthfully haven't had much of a chance" Finn replied honestly. "But I don't know if this duet is such a good idea." He took a moment to look at Sara who looked very different from last week. She was wearing little heeled shoes that made her shorter than she had been last week with a black and white pinstriped pencil skirt. She was wearing a dark pink blouse with a black shirt of some kind underneath showing through where she had the top couple of buttons open. Her hair was in a braid that hung down just to her shoulders and little pieces had fallen out on the sides around her ears, framing her face. And she was not wearing her glasses. Jake was right, she did look good. Blaine had made some kind of difference in her.

Sara looked at Finn her eyes pleading with him. "Would you rather hold a bucket for me while I puke" she asked jokingly although not entirely convinced this wouldn't happen again if she was forced to sing alone.

Finn rolled his eyes and the corners of his mouth turned up just a little in his trademark smirk. "Fine, we'll do the duet" he said as he held up his hands in appreciation.

All of sudden Sara was off her stool and she rushed at Finn throwing her arms around him "Thank you Finn, Thank you" she exclaimed.

Finn wrapped his arms around her returning the hug. "You're welcome" he said. "I guess we better rehearse after practice today. And I'll probably need another one of these" he said pointing to his large coffee.

"Anything, my treat" Sara offered with a smile as she looked up at him.

When Sara looked up at him, his breath hitched for a moment and Finn silently cursed Puck.


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 16- Figured You Out

After a regular glee rehersal, Sara drove over to the Lima Bean and got Finn another large coffee and some sandwiches to keep him awake while they worked on their duet together. Finn in the meantime tried to convince himself that Puck was completely wrong and that he had absolutely no feelings for Sara Walsh. But he wasn't succeeding in anything other than amassing a huge amount of guilt as he thought of Sara and then Rachel.

"I thought we could start by listening to a couple of different versions of the song and seeing a couple of videos" Sara suggested as she came down to the stage with Finn's coffee, the sandwiches and a bottle of water for her.

"There is more than one version" Finn asked.

"Not by Prince" Sara replied. "But here look," she said as she brought up you tube on her laptop and showed Finn some of the results. "This one is his original video, this one is a cover for the 1996 movie Romeo and Juliet and this one is a cover from a live show."

"I don't think I've ever seen this version of Romeo and Juliet" Finn said as they watched the you tube clip.

"I had to watch it in high school and it is now one of my favorites" Sara replied. "You can borrow it if you ever want to watch it."

"I think I'll pass" Finn said as Sara laughed. "This is a good version of the song though."

"I know right" Sara inflected. "I like the spoken part at the beginning and that would be easier for me than actual singing."

"That's a good point but if you are going to make me do this as a duet, I'm going to actually make you sing with me Sara" Finn demanded.

After working on the duet and the harmonies, Sara decided Finn was beyond tired and sent him home before they had a chance to work on any choreography. "We can always wing it or go really simple with just us and a couple of stools to sit on" Sara suggested as they walked out of the auditorium together.

"Uh-huh" Finn nodded as he stifled a yawn.

Suddenly there was a shot of music and lyrics.

_I like your pants around your feet_

_And I like the dirt that's on your knees_

_And I like the way you still say please_

_When you're looking up at me_

_You're like my favorite damn disease. _

"Excuse me" Sara said, her cheeks turning pink at the rather suggestive lyrics of her ring tone as she walked down the hall to answer her phone. "Hey" Sara said to the person who had called. "No I know, I'm excited for this weekend too. Can't you give me a little hint" she asked. "No, no" she said "it's ok for you to stay. Okay, I'll see you then." Sara hung up the phone with a smile on her face.

"Sorry Finn" Sara said as she walked back to where she had left him standing in the hallway.

"Interesting ring tone" Finn said with a raised eyebrow and a tint of color to his cheeks.

"Figured You Out by Nickelback- check it out sometime" Sara suggested. "My friend thought it was a perfect song for me" Sara said sarcastically with an eyeroll.

Finn chuckled at her response. "So…" Finn began, nodding his head in the direction Sara had just walked from, "I don't mean to be nosy, but is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah. Just finalizing some weekend plans with a friend from UT" Sara explained.

"Oh that's good" Finn exclaimed. "Big plans then" he asked.

"I don't know" Sara explained. "It's a surprise but I'm excited all the same." Sara reached over and patted Finn on the back. "Go home, get some rest" she said.

It was an unexpected gesture and the feel of her hand on his back sent a surge of electricity through Finn and woke him up even though he was physically exhausted. Finn cursed Puck again for even suggesting there was something going on. His tired brain and body was just running away with Puck's idea.

After a good nights' sleep Finn felt much better. When he woke up he searched I tunes for the song Sara had suggested and ended up purchasing the whole album.

Finn would not have figured Sara for such a hard rock music kind of girl. And the song he had heard as her ring tone seemed very different from the young woman he was getting to know through Glee. Perhaps he didn't really know her at all.

Finn also thought about their duet and how they would be able to work out some type of choreography but he was no dancer.

Finn dressed and headed over to the school thinking maybe during lunch he and Sara could at least talk about the choreography. Lunch had already begun though by the time Finn arrived at McKinely and Sara was not in Dan Thayer's classroom. She was also not in the staff room eating lunch. Finn also checked the choir room and the auditorium with no success. Then he remembered he had her cell phone number and called her.

When Sara's cell phone rang, just a normal ring, the librarian looked at her and shook her head as Sara whispered her apologies, turned down her ringer and stepped out into the hallway to answer her call that her phone registered as FINN. "Hello" Sara whispered as she passed the librarian on her way out the door.

"Hello. Why are we whispering" Finn asked as he also lowered his voice.

"Finn?" Sara said, a little louder now because she was in the hall.

"Yes" Finn replied.

"How'd you get my cell phone number" Sara demanded.

"Oh, the day of the slushie, when I went to get your things, I sent myself a text from your phone so I would have your number, in case we ever needed to talk" Finn explained, like a child rationalizing a cookie before dinner. "And I programmed my number into your contacts too- so if you need to get a hold of me you can too. Did your phone ring with that same Nickelback song or is that reserved just for your friend?" Finn asked.

"That's just Chad- my friend's ringtone" Sara replied.

"I googled them this morning and downloaded 'The Long Road'" Finn started. "I must admit their music is harder than I would have figured for your preference. And that song does not seem like you to me at all" he continued.

"I like the song" Sara admitted, "I like to put it on and dance to before going out or request it at parties. That is why Chad said it should be his ring tone, because he knows I like it but that I shouldn't because it isn't really me" she explained. "

'The Long Road' is definitely harder than I like, but Figured You Out and Someday are my favorites on that album. But I prefer Dark Horse or All the Right Reasons as an all around album to listen to."

"Maybe I'll check those out too" Finn said.

"Ok, so I'll pretend that it wasn't a huge invasion of my privacy to send yourself a text from my phone and add yourself to my contacts so we can get on to why you are calling me at school" Sara relented.

"Where are you" Finn asked.

Sara laughed "I just told you, at school."

"Well yes I know that. So am I" Finn replied. "But where in the school? I checked the classroom, the staff room, the choir room and the auditorium" he explained.

"I was in the library until I stepped out to take a call. Why are you looking for me" Sara asked.

"I thought we could talk choreography" Finn explained. "What are you doing in the library?"

"Working on a lesson plan for English. You know, the real reason I am here at McKinley" Sara replied.

"What's that like" Finn asked as he rounded the corner of the hallway near the library and found Sara leaning up against the wall. Today she was wearing a pair of jeans with a pair of boots that came up almost to her knees, a white tank top and a teal crushed velvet blazer. She had her hair twisted at the nape of her neck with loose curls falling over her shoulders.

Sara looked up as Finn snapped his phone closed and she did the same. "Want to come in and help" she asked.

"Sure, although I don't know what kind of help I would be" Finn said as they walked into the library together and Sara lead him to a table where she had a binder, a notebook, her laptop and several books open. "Wow all of this for a lesson?"

"For a lesson I will be graded on, yes" Sara replied. "I think with time and repetition the process gets easier and you don't make every single lesson quite so complicated. But as a student-teacher when you have to give a lesson and you are being graded on it, you better make sure you have it covered from every angle."

"Wow, I kinda feel guilty. Do you even have time for Glee" Finn asked as he watched Sara scribble a couple of notes and add more text into a form on her laptop.

"Sure I do, it's my fun, my release" Sara said with a laugh.

"Did you always know you wanted to be a teacher" Finn asked. Sometimes he felt strange around people his age who knew exactly what they wanted to do in life. It made him feel even more disconnected and lost.

"Maybe" Sara acknowledged. "My mom was an elementary school teacher so I kind of always thought about it. And then in high school, I had an amazing English teacher who just inspired me so much and made me really love literature and writing, so I thought 'I can do this, I can share my passion too'. Plus a friend I once tutored said I was an excellent teacher, although I think he was just trying to get into my pants" Sara joked.

"Wow, that's amazing" Finn said.

"What, that someone wanted to get into my pants" Sara continued to joke with an expression of mock outrage.

"No, no" Finn chuckled. "I meant it is amazing about your mom and your high school English teacher and how you realised you wanted to do this" he explained. 'Although I think there are a few students here that wouldn't mind getting into your pants too' Finn thought to himself before he realised that if it wasn't for Rachel, he would probably be in that group as well.

"What about you Finn" Sara asked. "What do you think you might want to do?"

"I honestly don't know" Finn said. "I thought I wanted to play football but I didn't get recruited by any of the schools. Then I had so much fun doing the school musicals and with glee and so I thought maybe I could be an actor but that didn't work out for me either" Finn said with a sigh. "And now, I've had a couple of great teachers like you were saying, Mr Shue for example, and I'm having a great time helping him with Glee and Coach Bieste with football but I'm not very smart so what would I teach if I wanted to be a teacher."

Sara put her hand on his, which made Finn turn and look at her. "I think you could be a great teacher. You have the compassion and determination, plus you are encouraging, enthusiastic and spirited. You just need to find what you are passionate about. Maybe it is music. Maybe it is physical education. What about history? Math? Or maybe you would make a good guidance counselor."

Finn watched Sara while she talked. She never moved her hand from his and her eyes shone brightly while she talked to him. Finn could see in her face that she had faith in him. She really did believe what she was telling him. For an instant Finn wondered when was the last time he felt that someone had that much confidence in him. Without even realizing what he was doing, Finn slowly brought his face closer to Sara's, their lips only inches apart when the lunch bell rang.

****A/N Figured You Out is by Nickelback. I kind of love their music if that is not already apparent. **


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 17 – Practice Makes Perfect

**FINN-Sara im sorry**

**FINN- I shouldn't have done that**

**FINN- Sara please**

**SARAW-It's fine Finn You didn't _DO_ anything I have class I'm putting my phone away We can talk later**

**FINN: afterschool, before Glee in the choir room, we also need to work on the choreography for our duet, assuming you still want to do it now**

**SARAW: fine, yes, whatever I _NEED_ to go _NOW_**

Finn jammed his phone in his pocket as he looked at everything still sprawled out across the table. When the bell had rung, Sara had jumped up quickly and grabbed her things mumbling about how she had to go and leaving all of the books from the library still open on the table. Finn knew that was partially his fault and that she had been running from him and what he almost did. "Stupid!" he grumbled to himself as he slammed the books closed and carried them over to the circulation desk so they could return to their rightful place.

Finn walked down the hallway and caught up with Will Schuester. "Hey Mr Shue, do you think I could use your office and your computer to look up some choreography ideas for my duet with Sara this afternoon?" he asked as they stood together in the hallway.

Will Shuester looked at Finn before nodding his head and taking out a pen. Then he grabbed Finn's hand and turned it over, scribbling his login info onto his palm and handing him a set of keys. "I'm trusting you with this Finn" Will said as he gave the young man in front of him a stern but trusting look.

"I've got it Mr Shue, you can trust me" Finn replied automatically before his brain kicked in and he realized that maybe Mr Shue couldn't trust him. Only moments ago he had broken trust with Sara, Rachel and possibly even the man in front of him. Will had not ever specifically said that Finn and Sara couldn't persue each other but then again, Will probably figured he didn't have to since Finn was dating Rachel.

Finn walked down to the choir room and let himself into Will's office. He sat down at the desk and waited for the computer to boot and pulled his cell phone out. He knew Sara would be in class and would probably have her phone tucked away but he knew it would be easier to apologize via text and yes, he was a huge chicken.

**FINN: I know you are in class I hope you have your phone turned off but I don't want to wait I am sorry again I don't know what I was thinking All I know is that it was nice to hear someone with faith in me and what I might be able to do in the future**

**FINN: its not been easy since graduation and ive been a little lost I hope we can forget this and put it behind us if you don't mind I'd like to help you more with your lessons and maybe pick your brain about being a teacher and going to school to study teaching**

**FINN: its kind of exciting to have maybe an idea of what I want to do I don't know if I would have made that connection before talking to you today about what inspired you to be a teacher I guess I thought teachers were people who couldn't do what they loved anymore and just did the next best thing and wanted to have all summer off I have a feeling you'll tell me just how wrong I am about that**

**FINN: and yes I am chicken to just text you all of this and not just wait to talk to you about it but we can still talk about it later if you want**

Sara was sitting in Mr Thayers English class helping a couple of groups with their latest Shakespeare assignment when she felt the vibration notification of a new text message from the phone in her blazer pocket. Then again, and again and finally a 4th time. Sara sighed out loud as she correctly assumed it would be Finn still apologizing. The funny thing was, Sara was not as mad as Finn seemed to think she was. She was more upset with herself that she had wanted to kiss him and because she had briefly thought he might really want to kiss her too. Sara was also upset because she was essentially lusting after a teen with a girlfriend and because Sara herself was kind of seeing someone, Noah.

Finn spent the better part of the afternoon trying to not think about how close he had been to kissing Sara. Instead he tried to focus on thinking up some simple moves for their duet. They had decided to stick with the Prince version of the song since it was what Will had assigned them but Sara was going to speak in the beginning like the Romeo and Juliet version. Finn thought since he wasn't so much of a dancer, maybe they could just kind of do some give and take through the duet. They were setting it up kind of that way anyway, since Sara was only singing the chorus which was also what she was speaking right at the beginning and he was singing all the versus. The verses were a little trickier. Maybe he could convince her to put her acting skills to the test and to play the role of a character. By the time the day was done, Finn had figured out the duet and had written what looked like a script to show Sara and made copies for each of them.

When Sara arrived in the choir room at the end of the day, Finn was sitting at the drums nervously playing an unrecognizable beat. He stood up when Sara came into the room and she put both her hands in the air. "I read all your texts. It's ok, lets just move on" she suggested. Finn tossed her one of his killer smiles as he pulled two booklets of paper out.

"Here, I've been working on this most of the afternoon" he began, "Will let me use his office and his computer."

"Wow Finn, color me impressed" Sara started, "but this kind of reads more like a script than a duet."

"I thought it might be more up your alley to approach it this way" he explained. "It might help with your nervousness."

"That's really considerate of you" she said, "a good teacher adapts methods as needed to reach his students".

"Here, let's kind of run through it" Finn suggested as a blush crept to his cheeks at her compliment. "We'll start with you here and I'll be sitting on this stool behind you while you say the opening bit. Then I am going to get up and move to you. We'll get close and you will take a step back or two and then I will put my hand on your hip and pull you back in closer."

Sara looked at Finn like he had two heads. "Can you trust me on this?" he asked her. And Sara knew she did- even if she knew she shouldn't- she trusted Finn Hudson completely, in the same way she had not trusted anyone else since, well in quite some time. She gave him a weak smile of acknowledgement and he flashed one of his killers to her. "Now I am going to circle around you like this and you are going to take a couple of steps away with your back still to me" Finn continued. "I'll take your hand and pull you back towards me, but I'll also step forward, so just take a little step back" he directed her, but yet they still collided. "Ok so we will need to work on that a bit, but it could work" he chuckled, his chest heaving against Sara's back as he did so. "We'll stay like this for a beat or two while you get ready to quickly turn around and start your part. Step towards me forcing me back until I am right in front of this stool here. Then put your hands on my shoulders and force me down onto the stool" Finn explained.

"Next, cross in front of me and then move behind me for the last line of your part" Finn continued. "I will get up and we will circle around this stool, first one way and then the other but we need to both be in front of the stool with you standing behind me" he instructed. "Now do exactly what the song tells you to do, standing behind me before you pull away and go to the right. I will reach out and grab your left hand and then look back at me."

"When it's your turn again I will still have your hand and you will walk towards me in a menacing sort of way, making me take a step back with each step you take forward- just don't push me into something ok" Finn joked. "When you finish the line 'too bold' you will drop my hand, turn and walk away until the line 'this is what it sounds like' then I am going to grab your hips and pull you back into me. When the instrumental part starts again you are going to turn to face me, we won't actually touch each other anywhere but we'll sway to the music together, ok" Finn asked.

Sara nodded and Finn continued to give them directions. "When it's time for you to sing again, you are going to put your hands on my chest and push me backwards as you walk towards me. Then I will join you on 'maybe I'm just too demanding" and I'll take your hands in mine and put them over your head and we'll walk you backwards-classic give and take here" Finn explained. "Now turn and twist our arms so your back is to me, I'll slide my arms down like this and we'll sway until the instrumental again."

"Hang on, we're almost there" Finn began, "we can make our way back to where we started from. I'll sit on the stool here behind you and you can speak that whole part again, except I'll say the very last line and tada-we're done" he exclaimed clapping his hands together.

"Amazing Finn" Sara said, a little in awe. "Let's run through it together one more time before everyone else arrives" she suggested.

When everyone arrived, they worked on the harmonies for their 80s group number "That's What Friends Are For". It was beautiful song and the group sang it well but they all agreed that it wasn't a good song for sectionals. "If you want to stick with an 80s theme, how about 'We Built This City' by Starship" Sara suggested out loud to the group. "Or 'I Want You' by Savage Garden from the 90s or for something a little more contemporary, how about 'When We Stand Together' by Nickelback." Sara pulled out her phone and cued up the Starship song first. Will Shuester looked intrigued but the kids did not seem to feel the same about yet another 80s song. Then they moved onto the Savage Garden song and Blaine, Jake and Brittany began already trying to figure out some choreography. But when Sara played the Nickelback song, everyone got on board, even singing along by the time the chorus played the second and third time.

"Ok, I think this one is a definite contender for sectionals, thanks Miss Walsh" Will said as he congratulated Sara. "Do you think you can get us some music and lyrics and stuff ready before the weekend?"

Sara nodded as the kids high fived her, patted her on the back and Finn put an arm around her and squeezed her to his side. For a second Sara thought he was going to put one of his large hands on her head and ruffle her hair but he didn't.

"Good job Sara" Finn whispered to her just loud enough for her to hear before he took his arm from around her shoulders.

As everyone was leaving Finn reached out and tapped Sara on the shoulder. "Brad and the band want to run through our music. I thought we could take the chance to practice again" he suggested.

Sara looked at her watch, it was later than usual for glee rehearsal but she still said "Sure why not." One run through became three and soon Sara and Finn were both exhausted. "I've really got to get home Finn" Sara said. "I still have a lesson for Friday to work on" she said as she gathered her things.

Finn realised what she was saying- he had interrupted her today. "I can help you tomorrow at lunch" he suggested sheepishly.

"I'll let you know" Sara chuckled. She doubted she would be able to get much work done with Finn "helping" her but she didn't want to squash any interest he had in teaching since he was so admittedly lost when it came to his future. "Have a good night Finn, thanks guys" Sara said with a wave and a nod to the band as she walked out of the choir room.

When Sara got home her Aunt Emily was waiting for her. "Sara dear, Noah asked me to give you his phone number. He would like you to call him. He seemed disappointed that you weren't here today" Emily Murphy said to her niece.

"Oh, I completely forgot I told him I would be here today. I was going to invite him to swim me with too" she explained.

"I didn't realize the two of you were seeing each other" her aunt said as she looked at Sara with a raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't say we are seeing each other- not yet" Sara began. "We went to a movie Friday night after I invited him to join me for a swim and then I said I would meet him here again today and we could swim again" she said shaking her head. "I just didn't expect Glee rehearsal to go so late. I'm going to go call him now. Good night Aunt Emily."

"Good night Sara, there are some leftovers in the fridge if you are hungry" she called as her niece strode down the hall towards her room.

Once she was in her room, Sara changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top before grabbing the piece of paper her aunt had given her with Noah's phone number.

"Go for Puckerman" Noah said as he answered the phone.

"Noah" Sara asked hesitantly.

"Oh hi" Noah said dejectedly.

"I'm so sorry- work was crazy today and I was running later and I forgot we were going to try to get a swim in" Sara apologized. "I'd like to make it up to you" Sara began, "I have a bunch of work I should get done tonight but I haven't had dinner yet, so if you want to join me, I'd like that" she suggested.

"Well I already ate" Noah said.

"Do you still want to join me, have coffee or tea and desert maybe?" Sara asked.

"Desert" Noah said and even though the phone Sara knew he was thinking something else so she chuckled.

"Cake or pie Noah. My aunt makes a killer lemon meringue" Sara said through giggles as she heard Noah groan. "But if you behave yourself I may let you kiss me again" she offered.

"I'll be there in 10, Zena" Noah said.

"Sara, my name is actually Sara" she said.

"I'll see you soon_** Sara**_" Noah emphasised her name before hanging up.


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 18- When Doves Cry

When Noah arrived Sara had almost finished a quick dinner of left over pasta with chicken and marinara sauce, with a salad. She ushered him into the kitchen before offering him something to drink.

Sara handed him his requested black cup of coffee. "Are you sure I can't fix you a plate of food" she asked.

"No, I'll just have this until you're ready for desert" Noah said with a wicked grin.

"Noah" Sara playfully swatted at his arm.

"Do you work at a gym" Noah asked when he saw what she was wearing.

"No" Sara replied with a shake of her head. "But since I missed our swim I need to get some yoga in tonight before I tackle some work I brought home. Do you do yoga" she inquired.

Noah laughed deeply. "No, I don't do yoga."

"Oh too bad I was going to invite you to stay and join me" Sara said.

Noah seemed to ponder her offer before he opened his mouth. "Do you run" he asked Sara.

"A little" Sara replied uneasily. "I'm not very fast and I don't like to run really long distances" she explained.

"Why don't we go for a run then, before desert" he suggested.

"It's a little dark" Sara said.

"I know somewhere with a lighted running track" Noah replied.

"You're not dressed for running" Sara explained as she took in his jeans and button up shirt and thought of the boots he had taken off at the door.

"I keep my gym bag in the truck for whenever I can squeeze in a run or some boxing or a pickup game of football or basketball" Noah said as he dismissed all of Sara's objections. "Let me go grab my stuff, and if you could point me to the bathroom I'll get changed."

Noah walked out to his truck and grabbed his bag and came back and changed his clothes. When he emerged from the bathroom in a pair of track shorts and a tee shirt with no sleeves and his running shoes in hand, Sara had already put a sweatband on her head to keep her hair out of her face and eyes and found her ipod to strap onto her arm.

They walked out and climbed into Noah's truck and drove off. Noah pulled up to the football field behind McKinley. "Here we are" he said as he shut off the truck.

"Are you sure it's ok" Sara asked.

"I'm positive it's ok" Noah said. "I'm actually surprised there isn't anyone here tonight. Usually there is almost always someone here" he explained.

Sara and Puck began with a warm up and some basic stretches and then walked a full lap of the track before they began jogging and then running. With his longer legs, Noah was able to run faster than Sara but he kept pace with her for a little while before she waved him on and told him to keep going. When he came back and lapped her, he turned around and began jogging backwards, keeping one eye over his shoulder and encouraging Sara to keep up with him.

They ran for about 30 minutes, talking mostly about the music coming from Sara's ipod which was currently set on a Nickelback rotation. "So who is this singing" Noah asked after about the 3rd song.

"Nickelback- they are a Canadian alternative rock band from Alberta" Sara replied between breaths.

"Alberta?" Noah asked hating that he didn't know what she was talking about.

"The Canadian province above Montana" she said.

"Oh" Noah replied. "They are pretty good. How did you come to hear their music?"

"They are from my hometown" Sara replied with a shrug.

"Wow- I didn't know you were Canadian" Noah said. "What brings you down to Lima, Ohio?"

"My aunt, school, work" Sara listed off. "There was nothing really keeping me in Alberta or Canada anymore but it's nice to still be near family."

"What about the rest of your family?" Noah asked.

"It's just me and Aunt Emily now" Sara said as she stopped running and began walking, shaking out her arms and legs.

"Your parents?"

"Dead- car wreck a couple of years ago" Sara said with a steel cold look that clearly said she didn't want to talk about it.

"God, Sara I had no idea, I'm so sorry" Noah said as he took her into his arms and hugged her tightly to him.

"It's ok" Sara replied. "I don't want to talk about it but the pain is not as devastating as it used to be" she said as she sniffled and dried her cheeks with her hands.

Noah took one of her hands in his as they walked over to the side of the school where they had left bottles of water and took a drink before finishing stretching in silence.

As the leaned up against the school, finishing their water Sara looked at Noah, "Thanks for this. It was fun, maybe we can do it again sometime."

"Yeah, for sure" Noah said grinning. "God you're even hotter now" he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, super hot. That was quite a workout" Sara replied. "My heart is racing."

"Glad to hear that" Noah said as he moved to stand in front of her, straddling her legs with his and putting his arms out to touch the school behind her on either side of her shoulders.

"I mean from the exercise Noah" Sara chided him.

"And I meant hot, sexy" he reminded her. "Knowing you are Canadian, that's like foreign and exotic" he chuckled.

"Yeah foreign and exotic- it's where everyone wants to vacation, especially in the dead of winter" Sara chuckled back.

"Well you know what the Beach Boys said about the northern girls right?" Noah asked.

"No, what did they say" she asked.

Noah hummed a couple of bars before he sang:

_Well, east coast girls are hip,_

_I really dig those styles they wear_

_And the southern girls with the way they talk,_

_They knock me out when I'm down there_

_The Midwest farmers daughters_

_Really make you feel alright_

_And the northern girls with the way they kiss_

_They keep their boyfriends warm at night_

And then Noah brought his lips to Sara's before she could retort. The kiss was soft and gentle at first but when Sara brought her hands up to Noah's neck and pulled him down closer to her, he deepened the kiss. She gently nibbled on his bottom lip and as he moaned she slipper her tongue into his mouth trying desperately not to think about what it would have been like to have kissed Finn Hudson earlier in the day. When Noah brought his body up against hers, Sara pulled her lips from his breathlessly.

"Oh Noah, we're both damp and sweaty and this is no time for that" she said as she gently pushed him back into his own space and tried to steady her breathing.

"I'm thinking if we're already damp and sweaty, there is no point in stopping is there" Noah said.

"Really, here, up against the school?" Sara asked him as she put a hand on her hip.

Noah sighed out loud. "For me, yeah whatever works. But I'm guessing this isn't quite enough for you" he admitted.

"Are you implying I'm high maintenance" Sara asked.

"No, I'm saying you're classier than I am" Noah said as he grabbed her hand and began walking back to his truck.

Back in the driveway at Sara's house, things got a little steamy again before Sara told Noah she had to go in and get some work done.

"Can I see you Friday night again?" Noah asked as he leaned out the window of his truck as she walked up the driveway to the house.

Sara turned and looked at him with a sad face. "I have a friend from UT coming down for the weekend. I don't really know what our plans are" she explained.

"Oh" Noah said his face crestfallen.

"What about a movie here Thursday night" Sara suggested as she walked back towards the truck and the window he was learning out of. "And dinner, just pizza or something."

"Sure, sounds great Sara" he admitted.

"And you have my number now" Sara said with a laugh.

"That I do" Noah replied.

"See you Thursday Noah."

Good night Sara, see you Thursday" he said as he drove away.

When Sara walked into McKinley Wednesday morning, she was tired but happy. She had stayed up late, too late, finishing her lesson plan and was pretty much ready to present it on Thursday and then she could celebrate with pizza and a movie with Noah Thursday night and then on Friday Chad was coming for the weekend. He was still keeping Sara in the dark as to their actual plans but it didn't damper Sara's excitement any. The only thing on Sara's radar was this duet with Finn today.

Sara pulled out her phone and texted Finn.

**SARAW: Plans for lunch? Want to have a look at my finished lesson and we can talk about a career in education?**

**FINN: you finished it last night hard worker sure lets do lunch but where**

**SARAW: Meet me in Thayer's classroom?**

**FINN: you got it**

Sara was not surprised when she looked out into the hall just before lunch and found Finn standing up against the row of lockers across from the door to the classroom. It looked like he was texting on his phone but as if he knew that Sara was looking at him, Finn looked up and gave Sara a half smile and a wave before looking down at his phone again.

When the lunch bell rang, Sara looked up as Finn waited for the mass exodus before he walked into the classroom.

"Good morning Mr Thayer" Finn said politely as he walked by the teacher at the front of the room and strode to the back corner where Sara was seated and pulling out her notebook and a file folder. Finn sat down backwards in the chair, crossing his arms on the back of the chair that was in front of the desk Sara was seated at.

"Have a good lunch Miss Walsh, Finn" Dan Thayer said as he left his classroom. He looked over his shoulder once he was in the hall and looked at the striking young couple in his classroom and wondering what they were up to. Dan Thayer knew that Sara Walsh had a good head on her shoulders and it wasn't like Finn Hudson was actually a student here at McKinely anymore, although he seemed to spend more time at the school than some of the senior class.

"I can't believe you finished it all" Finn said as he looked at Sara.

"I wanted to get it done" Sara said. "I don't have a lot of free time today or tomorrow to really work on it" she explained.

Sara and Finn spent the better part of the lunch break going over the lesson as Sara explained the process of creating a plan and what she was using as her objectives for student learning, her teaching and learning activities and her strategies she wanted to use to check student understanding since Mr Thayer was not ready for her to handle her own student assessment yet. Finn was mostly quiet but he did ask questions, mostly why she had chosen certain things or how she knew to do something one way over another. He felt overwhelmed looking at the work she had put in, but she had an air of confidence about what she was doing and it stabbed at his heart when he realised Rachel had that same confidence that was so completely intoxicating to him.

When they finished looking over her lesson, Finn looked over at Sara and asked her "Are there any good schools I should look at in New York City?".

Sara looked at him kind of dumbstruck for a moment. "I honestly don't know Finn" she replied. "I would be willing to help you compare schools once you've looked into locations but I don't know much about where good teaching schools are."

"Why did you pick UT then?" Finn asked.

"It was the closest to family" Sara said, "it was the only choice for me".

"Yeah, I get that" Finn said. "That's why I want to look at schools in New York. Because of Rachel. Not that she is family- well not yet- but yeah" he stumbled over his explanation feeling like a complete idiot.

There was an awkward quiet between Finn and Sara then. But Sara couldn't bring herself to explain to Finn that she had researched schools in Alberta and had applied and been accepted to the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge and had chosen the Univeristy of Lethbridge- where Billy happened to have a football scholarship. That of course had been before the car wreck. Her good grades from high school, a couple of recommendation letters and a referral from her grief counsellor had helped pave the way for Sara to transfer from the U of L to UT- not that there had been anything to transfer from the U of L has she had withdrawn from classes shortly after midterms. It would normally be enough for her to flunk out of school but she was given a little bit of special consideration and she was thankful for the opportunity to start over at UT in September of 2010. Only a handful of people knew that Sara had not begun her University studies at UT.

"Thank you for sharing your lesson with me Sara" Finn began, "and for talking to me about teaching. It might not be for me, but it is something to consider and that is more than I had a couple of days ago." Finn stood up to leave but Sara reached out and touched his arm, her fingers lightly running over the soft cinnamon hair on his arm.

" I don't know why you don't see what I think a lot of people see you. And that is that you could do anything you want Finn" she said quietly her hand still on his arm.

Finn swallowed hard before taking her hand in his and removing it from his arm. "I wanted to play football somewhere and that didn't happen, then I wanted to go to the actors studio in New York and become an actor and that didn't happen either. So excuse me if I don't feel like I can be anything I want" he said bitterly. "I also wanted to marry my girlfriend and support her and her amazing dreams but I can't even do that because I realize if I ever really loved her, and want to support her, I can't continue to be this dead weight she is carrying around. Waiting for me to come to New York and do something, anything just so we can be together. How completely uninspiring!" Finn's eyes flashed angrily at Sara and the usual soothing glitter of them, was replaced with tears threatening to tumble down his freckled cheeks.

Sara hung her head, ashamed. She had no idea how to comfort Finn and respond to his outburst as she walked him storm out of the classroom just moments before the bell rang. She watched as Finn determinedly strode down the hall to the boys locker room and forcefully pushed the door open, and Sara heard the door crash into the brick wall behind it from the force of Finn's angry push. Once safely inside, the tears streamed down his face and at the same time, a couple of tears escaped Sara's eyes as well. It wasn't that long ago that Sara too felt lost and so completely alone while everyone continued to tell her how strong she was.

Sara didn't see Finn until the end of the day when he staggered into the choir room after everyone else. Even from across the room, Sara could see his eyes were puffy and bloodshot and Sara knew there had been tears much of the afternoon. Will took in Finn's appearance and quietly asked the young man if he was ok.

"I'm fine" Finn said, determinedly as if he needed to convince himself as well as Mr Shue.

"Are you and Sara ready to present today?" he asked looking from Finn to where Sara was. Sara held her breath for a moment as she waited for Finn to respond first.

"Sure, why wouldn't we be" Finn said as he got up and helped move the piano a little out of the way and grabbed the stool they would need.

Sara stood up and removed her denim jacket to reveal a black tee shirt paired with her black dress pants. Finn whipped off the red McKinely hoodie he was wearing and revealed a very tight black tee stretched against his chest and tucked into his black jeans. They had decided yesterday the song was charged enough that even with the simple choreography and blasic black clothing, the song would still have impact. Sara watched as Finn took a seat on the stool and she walked over to stand in front of him. She put her head down for a moment and counted to five to settle her nerves before she felt his hand on the small of her back in a gesture of comfort. Sara looked up at the group of Glee kids and Will Shuester before she began to speak.

_How can you just leave me standing?_

_Alone in a world that's so cold (So cold)_

_Maybe I'm just too demanding_

_Maybe I'm just like my father too bold_

_Maybe you're just like my mother_

_She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)_

_Why do we scream at each other?_

_This is what it sounds like_

_When doves cry__  
_

Finn stood up and walked around beside her and took one of his large hands to cup her cheek as he began to sing.

_Dig if you will the picture_

_Of you and I engaged in a kiss_

Finn leaned in closer and closer to Sara until she could feel his breath in her ear and on her neck as he sang.

_The sweat of your body covers me_

_Can you my darling_

_Can you picture this?_

Sara took a couple of steps back from Finn as he continued.

_Dream if you can a courtyard_

_An ocean of violets in bloom_

_Animals strike curious poses_

Finn put his hand on Sara's hip and pulled her back in closer to him.

_They feel the heat_

_The heat between me and you_

Sara got ready to sing her part again as she got ready to push Finn back towards the stool.

_How can you just leave me standing?_

_Alone in a world that's so cold (So cold)_

Sara put her hands on Finn's shoulders and pushed him down onto the stool, before she walked across in front of him.

_Maybe I'm just too demanding_

_Maybe I'm just like my father too bold_

_Maybe you're just like my mother_

_She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)_

Sara turned to walk back to Finn and stand behind him on the stool.

_Why do we scream at each other?_

_This is what it sounds like_

_When doves cry__  
_

Finn was off the stool the moment the band began to play and stalked Sara around the stool like he was a large jungle cat and she was his helpless prey. When it was time for Finn to sing again, he was standing in front of the stool with Sara right behind him. Sara snaked her arms around Finn's body and placed her hands flat on his stomach as he began to sing.

_Touch if you will my stomach_

_Feel how it trembles inside_

Sara's hands moved up and down his stomach, pulling the tight black cotton material as they went.

_You've got the butterflies all tied up_

Sara stepped out from behind Finn and took about 4 steps to his right before he reached out and captured one of her tiny hands in his.

_Don't make me chase you_

Sara looked over his shoulder back at Finn.

_Even doves have pride_

With her hand still in Finn's Sara took a couple of steps towards Finn and once she had invaded his space, he began to step back with each step she took as she sang.

_How can you just leave me standing?_

_Alone in a world that's so cold (So cold)_

_Maybe I'm just too demanding_

_Maybe I'm just like my father too bold_

Sara felt Finn, drop her hand from his grasp and she turned to walk away from him as she continued to sing as Finn followed behind her.

_Maybe you're just like my mother_

_She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)_

_Why do we scream at each other?_

Finn reached out with his large hands and placed one on each of her hips, pulling her back forcefully into him.

_This is what it sounds like_

_When doves cry__  
_

Sara turned to look at Finn, and she found his eyes were almost as angry as they had been before he had stormed out of Dan Thayer's classroom. His hands had found her hips again and they were pushing her into movement. Even though they were not supposed to be touching, Sara's hands found their way to Finn's chest and they explored the contours of his body defined by black fabric stretched across it. Finn's hands were off her hips in an instant and when Sara began to sing again he allowed her to push him backwards as she kept walking towards him singing.

_How can you just leave me standing?_

_Alone in a world that's so cold (So cold)_

_Maybe I'm just too demanding_

Finn reached out and grabbed Sara's hands off his chest and raised them high above her head and stepped towards her, making her step back.

_Maybe I'm just like my father too bold_

_Maybe you're just like my mother_

Sara twisted her body so she was turned away from Finn but their hands were still linked above her head.

_She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)_

Finn's hands let go of hers and as she dropped her arms beside her, Finn's hands found her shoulders and then carefully caresses all the way down to her hands.

_Why do we scream at each other?_

_This is what it sounds like_

_When doves cry_

When the instrumental started again, Finn took one or Sara's hands and spun her around to face him again as he slowly pulled her back towards the stool. He sat down and she again took her place in front of him and turned to face the group again. Once again, Finn put a comforting hand on the small of her back.

_How can you just leave me standing?_

_Alone in a world that's so cold (So cold)_

_Maybe I'm just too demanding_

_Maybe I'm just like my father too bold_

_Maybe you're just like my mother_

_She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)_

_Why do we scream at each other?_

Finn put his hands on Sara's hips and pushed her forward two steps while he stood up and joined her, standing right behind her.

_This is what it sounds like_

_When doves cry_

The choir room was silent for what felt like forever. Sara's eyes looked up to the group in front of her for reassurance as time ticked by. She felt that all too familiar feeling of bile rising and she turned to run for the trash but somehow, Finn's arm was now around her waist holding her back. His breath was warm and moist on her ear as he whispered from behind her, "You're ok. Trust me they loved it. Just take a couple of deep breaths for me." Sara nodded and as she took her first deep breath she heard everyone start applauding.

"That was-" Will Shuester started before being cut off by Brittany.

"HOT! I think I need a shower" Brittany said as she fanned herself with her hand. "Or at least a long cold drink."

"Yes, let's take a 5 minute break and gather ourselves back together" Mr Shue said, not sure how to reign in the insane teenage hormones he could feel overtaking the room.

"I told you to trust me" Finn said quietly to Sara as he finally released her from his grip.

**A/N: I need to go back and modify the time line a little bit. Billy and Sara would have met in September 2003, graduated high school in June 2009 (not September 2004 and June 2010 respectively)**

**Songs:**

**Puck's lyrics at the McKinley track are "California Girls" by Van Halen (originally the Beach Boys)**

**Sara and Finn's Duet is "When Doves Cry" by Prince with influences from other versions I have seen/heard including the 1996 Romeo and Juliet Quindon Tarver version.**


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Billy). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 19-Bond

Thursday was a pretty uneventful day and as the time ticked by, Sara felt herself eagerly anticipating her pizza and a movie date with Noah that night. Sara was also excited that Chad would be there the next day and she couldn't wait to find out his big surprise. Sara found herself grinning like a fool when she walked out of her last class of the day and began walking towards the choir room. Finn had been waiting outside of Dan Thayer's classroom for her, but Sara didn't seem to notice so he quickly fell into step beside her, mesmerized by her smile.

"You seem pretty happy today" Finn said once he was matching Sara stride for stride down the hall.

"Oh hi, Finn" Sara said as she turned her head to look at him. "Yeah, today is a pretty good day. What about you, how is your day" she asked.

"Not as good as yours I don't think" Finn responded with a smile.

Sara laughed and playfully shoved him into a bank of lockers.

When they got to the choir room, it was pretty quiet and Finn took a seat next to Sara. "Are you nervous for your lesson with Mr Thayer tomorrow" he asked.

Sara thought about it for a moment. "A little maybe, but I'm excited to finally get to do something. Besides Glee where Will has given me lots of input and control, I feel like I've just been hanging out in the shadows" Sara said.

"Feeling restless" Finn nodded.

"Exactly" Sara replied. "Why else am I here but to teach, it will be great to get started on that."

"Well in anticipation of a great lesson, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and celebrate tomorrow night. Blaine, Kurt-Blaine's boyfriend, and I are going to see a Journey cover band. We have an extra ticket and I thought since you like the 80s music you might want to join us."

Sara's eyes were as wide as saucers and her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest.

Finn mistook it for a look of sheer panic and quickly mumbled "Friends, as friends- not a date." His face colored crimson like poppy's in flanders field.

Sara cracked a small smile and opened her mouth to say something as Finn gave her a crooked grin because he _knew_ she was going to say yes. And damn Puck for being right because Finn was starting to think maybe he did have a little crush on her. But Sara closed her mouth before she said anything and her eyes squinted a little like she was remembering something before she finally said. "Sorry, I can't Finn."

Finn was about to say something but Sara bought a finger up to his mouth, stopping just short of pressing it against his lips in an effort to sssshhh him. "A friend of mine from UT is coming for the weekend and I have plans already. Otherwise, I would be really tempted because it sounds like a lot of fun" she explained.

Finns eyes were focussed on her finger, just in front of his lips and he thought if he puckered them just a fraction, his lips might finally connect with Sara's skin. But as his brain processed what she was saying, Finn felt himself deflate like balloon and shift back into his chair. "Maybe next time" he mumbled.

"Maybe" Sara agreed.

When Sara returned home, she changed out of her clothes and had a shower, pulling her hair up off her neck and trying to keep it from getting wet. She dressed casual for her date with Noah, choosing a pair of comfy jeans and light pink tee shirt. She left her hair completely down curling around her face in rows of ringlets from the humidity of the shower. It made her look younger than her almost 21 years.

Sara then picked up her phone and called Noah.

"Hello Sara" Noah said as he answered the phone having recognized her number on his caller id.

"Hi Noah" I was just about to order the pizza and I don't know what you like on your pie" she said.

"I'm pretty easy" Noah said which caused Sara to giggle. "I mean I'll eat a pizza with just about anything on it, except completely vegetarian."

"How do you feel about bacon double cheeseburger pizza" Sara asked.

"I think I want it to have my babies" Noah said with a dreamy sigh.

Sara laughed again, this time a throaty chuckle as she threw her head back and laughed.

"I'll order the pie, you pick up a movie, your choice and meet me here in 30 minutes" Sara ordered.

"Yes ma'am" Noah said in mock salute. "What type of movie do you want?" he asked.

"Your choice- completely" Sara said before she thought better of it and added "not porn!"

This time Noah laughed.

Noah arrived at Sara's place 25 minutes later with a five orange lilies tied with a purple ribbon, a movie and a tray of brownies. "For you" Noah said as he trust the flowers at Sara, "for us" he said holding up a copy of Quantum of Solace, "and for me" he said as he motioned to the brownies.

Sara put out a hand to stop him. "I'm not even letting you in unless you promise you'll share those brownies Noah!"

Noah grinned. "Nothing better than a girl who doesn't actually mind eating" he said.

A few minutes later their extra large pizza arrived and they settled in front of the tv to watch it with tall glasses of coke.

"Thank you for the beautiful flowers Noah" Sara said as she looked over to the vase on the kitchen counter holding the lilies.

"You're welcome. Thanks for agreeing to see me again" he said. "Where is your Aunt tonight" Puck asked as he hadn't seen or heard old lady Murphy yet.

"Oh she is flittering around making sure this place is immaculate before my friend arrives tomorrow" Sara explained. "I'd feel guilty if this place didn't already look like a museum" she whispered.

Noah grinned as he pulled another slice of pie from the box. "So James Bond is ok?"

"Yes" Sara replied. "I've seen almost all of them, but not this one."

"There is a new one coming out in November too" Noah supplied. "Skyfall I think is the name of it. Maybe we should go."

Sara bit her lip "Maybe. I was thinking I might just wait and see it when it comes out on DVD so I'm not blubbering like an idiot in the theatre" Sara admitted.

"Why would you cry at a James Bond film?"

Sara took a deep breath before she began. "James Bond was a thing between my ex and I" Sara explained. "We were friends for a long time before we got together and we've watched pretty much all of them together- so I thought it might be difficult to watch another one without him."

"We can choose something else for tonight" Noah suggested.

"No" Sara insisted. "Just if I cry a bit, now you know why."

"Bad break up?" Noah inquired.

Sara thought for a moment the best way to describe how things had ended with Billy before she settled on one word. "Messy."

Noah slipped an arm around Sara's shoulders and pulled her into his body. He felt her take a huge intake of breath before she relaxed a little into the crook of his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, pulling her legs up to tuck underneath her. Sara tried hard not to compare this night to the thousands of movie nights Billy and Sara had shared in their 6+ year friendship and short romance.

They watched the movie cuddled together and near the end, when Sara started to cry softly, Noah pulled her into his lap and gently wiped away her tears. Sara kissed him then. A soft, gentle, pleading kiss and Noah shifted their bodies slightly and lowered himself back onto the couch, pulling Sara with him. His body tingled all over as she pressed her body into his from her position on top of him.

Emily Murphy tried not to watch from the corner where she had been observing the young couple in her living room. She loudly cleared her throat to make her presence know before she strode into the room and stifled her laughter. Noah and Sara sat up quickly at the sound. Sara tried unsuccessfully to untangle herself from Noah and both of them tried to smooth their slightly dishevelled clothes as their cheeked burned with embarrassment and they went back to watching the movie and eating the brownies Noah had brought.

When the movie ended, Noah stood to help take the plates, glasses and knife for the brownie into the kitchen. Sara took the empty pizza box and put it in the recycling and brought Noah's now empty brownie pan into the kitchen to wash for him. When they were finished Sara took Noah by the hand and led him down a hallway towards a closed door. Noah stopped in his tracks and pulled her back towards him.

"Sara" he said in barely a whisper.

Sara just let go of his hand and walked to the end of the hall before she opened the door all the way and leaned up against it.

Noah followed her down the hall and stepped into the room and took a look around. A queen size bed covered in light teal and violet bedding was in the center of the room. One side of the room had windows looking out to the patio and pool area with thin whispy white sheer curtains and rolled up room darkening blinds. Under the window was a comfy chair with a pillow and blanket neatly folded in it plus a long low table with a stereo and racks of cds. Across from the windows was a wall with a long dresser with a mirror with pictures tucked all around the edge and a door leading to what Puck assumed was an ensuite and walk in closet. Behind the door was a tall armoire. Noah walked over to the cds and leafed through a couple before he looked back at Sara, still standing against the door.

"This is quite the music collection" he said.

Sara just shrugged her shoulders.

Then Noah walked over to the dresser with all pictures. He picked up the framed ones first and Sara told Noah each of their names. He picked up the framed photo of Chad and Sara and raised an eyebrow.

"Chad, and the girls- they are my friends from UT" she explained.

"Chad is your ex" Noah asked.

"Yes, but not the Bond one" Sara replied as she left the door and walked over to Noah and pulled down a picture from the mirror. It was the one of Sara and Billy from the first month of school when they had met. "This is Billy. My Bond-ex."

"Wow you guys have known each other since you were kids" Noah remarked.

"7th grade. Best friends almost instantly" Sara said.

"Yeah, I've got a friend like that too" Noah said thinking of Finn and all they had been through together.

"We always said we were just friends" Sara continued as she pulled down more and more pictures of her and Billy.

"So you guys were high school sweethearts, went to the prom" Noah said, pointing to the grad picture of Sara and Billy.

Sara laughed at the memories. "Not exactly. We didn't start dating until after this. I went to grad-prom, with his best friend Ben and Billy went with Maggie the girl he had been dating most of senior year." Sara walked over to the bed and sat down and she patted the bed beside her for Noah to come join her.

Noah reluctantly joined her nervous about sitting on her bed with her with the door open and her aunt around.

"In junior year, we were both dating other people but still hanging out together the way best friends do. And we made up this game where we would pretend things. Sometimes we would make up stories about what we thought was going on with people, sometimes we would pretend we were other people" Sara said.

"Billy showed up at my house after grad. We sat up and talked for a while, both of us admitting that we had decided not to "go all the way" with our dates. And then Billy told me he had been waiting for tonight since the beginning of high school and that he couldn't believe he had been too chicken to ask out who he really wanted to take to the dance. And that person was me" Sara continued her story.

"Billy asked me if I would have said yes and I mean, I think secretly I always hoped he would have, so of course I said yes. And I knew we would have had an even better time than the time we had because it would have Billy and I, and we always had the best times" Sara explained before she swallowed a huge lump in her throat. "Then Billy asked me if we had been dating, if we had gone to the dance, if we had had this amazing time, would we have finished the night together for the first time. And I knew it was no longer a game, no longer a hypothetical. This was real and it was something we had both secretly wanted for years but never dared to dream it could happen. And so Billy was my first and my first real love" Sara finished.

"We broke up with the people we had been seeing and started dating each other like everyone knew we should have been all along. We dated for a couple of months and it was wonderful, it was fantastic, it was everything we both had always wanted. But then it went horribly wrong and ended badly" Sara explained.

"Messy" Noah said, repeating her earlier word.

"Very messy" Sara said, her eyes filling with tears.

Noah took Sara's hand and brought her back over to the dresser. "This one, is this you and your parents?"

Sara smiled. "Graduation day. They were so proud"

"You look just like your mom" Noah remarked.

"Billy always said the same thing" Sara laughed. "I think he had a crush on my mom."

"I think he was crazy in love with you" Noah said.

Sara nodded.

"Do you want to talk about what went wrong?" Noah asked.

Sara shook her head and tears filled her eyes again.

Noah led Sara to the bed and pulled her into his lap again and just held her, on her beautiful big bed with the door open until she started to fall asleep in his arms. Then he tucked her (still clothed) into her bed and got on top of the covers and snuggled with her until almost midnight when Sara's aunt Emily stopped by and mentioned he should probably go home.

"She is still dressed, but she fell asleep crying against me when she was talking about Billy and her parents" Noah explained.

Emily Murphy looked at Noah with a surprised look. "Sara told you about Billy. And her parents."

"I don't think she told me all of it. She didn't tell me what happened with her and Billy other than it ended badly and was messy. And the other day she told me her parents died in a car wreck but that is about all I know about that" he said.

"Well that is more than she usually tells anyone dear, so I guess it is a start" Emily said with a hand on Noah's arm. "And she must feel comfortable around you to tell you all of that. Thank you for being her friend."

Noah blushed at the older woman's thanks before he left the house.

Sara felt like she was floating on a cloud as she walked to glee rehearsal on Friday. Her lesson with Dan Thayer had gone amazingly well and he had already said he was giving her an excellent review of it. And in just a couple of hours, Chad would be in town and she would find out the big surprise. In the mean time all that was left was Glee rehearsal which Sara would have never thought, but it really was a great thing for her.

"Could that smile of yours get any wider?' Finn joked as Sara climbed the stairs to the stage in the auditorium. "Does this mean your lesson went well today" he asked.

"It was amazing Finn. Even better than I could have imagined. Dan said he is giving me an 'excellent' review" Sara explained her eyes shining.

Finn picked her up by the waist and spun her around in a hug. The pink a-line skirt she was wearing with a soft white sweater, ballooning out from her. "That is wonderful Sara. I am so happy for you."

"And then tonight, my friend will be here and it is going to be a great weekend catching up" Sara continued.

Finn's eyes darkened for a moment as he remembered that he had invited Sara to join them at the concert tonight and she had turned him down because of her friend from out of town. But then he saw just how happy Sara was and Finn knew he would have a great time at the concert anyway. The tickets had been a belated graduation present from Burt and Carole for Finn and Kurt. They had bought 4 tickets so Finn could take Rachel and Kurt could take Blaine. However, soon after Rachel started at NYADA, she found out she had a workshop to attend the same weekend as the concert.

And then things had changed earlier this week when Finn had called Rachel and found out Brody had kissed her. Finn was upset but knew he shouldn't be. It was ironically the same day he had almost kissed Sara in the library. Rachel admitted it was nice but that it was only because she was so lonely for Finn. Finn wondered if what he thought he was feeling for Sara was also only because he was so lonely for Rachel and it made sense but he also thought there might be something more there. It wasn't that he didn't love Rachel anymore, he did still love her. And he knew no matter how many times Brody kissed Rachel or Rachel kissed Brody, Rachel did still love Finn too. Trying to be mature and sensitive about it, Finn had suggested they take a little break from each other romantically and check out anything that appealed to them. At first Rachel thought it was crazy but Finn made strange arguments that somehow made sense to her. And in the end Rachel had agreed that they should each explore other relationships for a little while, but she would consider coming home for Finn and Blaine's party in a couple of weeks.

When it was clear that the "That's What Friends Are For" number was going no where and everyone had liked Sara's idea of "When We Stand Together" Sara had brought in the sheet music the very next day and they had started working on it. Today they were focussing on just this one song as a group. Sara really liked what they had come up with. In fact, after the kids had sung it through once, Sara had Finn sit at the drums while she and Will got up and joined the kids for one more time. In fact Finn was just at the mini drum solo with Sara standing right in front of the drum kit matching him beat for beat with her pretend sticks when the auditorium doors opened and someone stepped inside but no one noticed until the song finished and the mystery person started to clap and walk towards the stage. As soon as the person stepped into the light, and Sara saw who it was she ran to the edge of the stage.

"Chadley" Sara screamed.

"Hello Smurfette" Chad said, using the nickname he had given her as he put his hands on her waist and lifted her off the stage and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. The color drained from Finn's face and he almost fell off the stool of the drum kit and in an effort to regain his balance he accidently hit the base drum pedal which resulted in a distinct "BOOM".

"Sorry" Finn mumbled as everyone turned to look at him.

"I thought you weren't getting in until dinner time" Sara said.

"My lab this afternoon was cancelled- TA has mono and Dr Shaffers hasn't found a replacement TA yet" Chad explained. "I figured a couple of more hours to spend with you was not such a bad thing."

"How did you know where to find me?" Sara asked.

"I stopped at the house first and the dragon lady told me" Chad said using the name he had given Emily Murphy the time she had visited Sara at UT and been displeased to find Chad not only in Sara's dorm room but also in her bed. "Once I got to the school, someone named Beast helped me find you."

"Coach Beiste" Sara corrected.

Chad shrugged his shoulders.

"Umm Miss Walsh" Will began, "would you like to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh, sorry Mr Shue" Sara apologized. "Everyone, this is Chad, a friend of mine from UT. Chad, this is Mr. Shue the director of the New Directions, that's Finn over there on the drums and he is the assistant director and a McKinely/ New Directions alum. The kids on the stage are the new directions; Blaine, Brittany, Sam, Joe, Sugar, Kitty, Marley, Jake, Ryder, Unique, Artie and Tina."

"Hello Chad" the group on stage chorused.

"You have a pretty good little group here Mr Shue" Chad commented. "Is the Nickelback your choice or Sar-Miss Walsh's influence?"

"Totally Miss Walsh's influence" Blaine gushed.

"You should get her to share more Nickelback with you- like her favorite song" Chad teased as Sara blushed.

"Highly inappropriate Chad" Sara hissed. "But I'd be glad to share some more songs with you another day guys" she announced to the group.

"Before we all leave for the weekend, I wanted to let you know that I am pushing Miss Walsh's week back one week so we can focus on some songs for sectionals.

"With Miss Walsh's and Finn's help, I've come up with 5 songs to work on next week. All mostly group numbers, no real solos. And the songs are "All or Nothing" by Theory of a Deadman, "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down, "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry, "Broadway" by the Goo Goo Dolls and "The Old Apartment" by the Barenaked Ladies Please collect your music and lyrics on your way out" Mr Shue said.


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Chad). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 20- Journey

"Are you sure this is alright" Sara asked Chad again. They were sitting in her room and she had just emerged from the ensuite after changing her clothes. Chad still refused to tell her the big surprise he had planned for the night and Sara was trying to make sure she was dressed appropriately. He told her to think dorm party and so she had on a pair of denim capris, a red halter top and she grabbed her favorite red and white hoodie. Her hair had been in a French braid all day, so she took it out, the waves cascading down past her shoulders.

"I'd clip up your hair though" Chad suggested.

So Sara grabbed an elastic band and pulled it into a pony tail and looped the ends back into the elastic

"Perfect" Chad grinned.

"What about shoes?" Sara asked.

"Running shoes, unless you have a pair of heels you can stand and dance in all night without needing to sit down or take them off" Chad instructed. Chad walked over to the mirror and noticed all the photos. "Hey are these your parents" Chad asked.

"Running shoes it is" Sara announced. "Umm yeah, that's my mom and dad," Sara said as she glanced at Chad looking at the photos.

"Why haven't I met them" Chad asked.

"Because they're dead" Sara said.

"Shit Sara" Chad cursed. "I didn't know."

"Now you do, so just drop it ok" Sara suggested.

"What about this guy? High school sweetheart?" Chad asked as he picked up a picture of Billy and Sara.

"Something like that" Sara said angrily as she grabbed the photo out of Chad's hands and put it back into the corner of the mirror.

Chad put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Don't bite my head off. I've just never seen any of these photos before and I've spent an awful amount of time in your dorm room."

Sara took a deep breath and looked up at Chad. "I'm just starting to get over my parents death, and Aunt Em had all these pictures from before- I hadn't wanted them before" Sara explained, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, no tears this weekend" Chad chided. "Now come on or we are going to be late for our surprise."

Chad drove them in the black sports car he had rented for the weekend. He pulled into an arena parking lot and Sara looked at him.

"What's this" she asked.

"A Journey cover band concert. Happy Early Birthday!" Chad said, his smile reaching almost up to his eyes.

Sara threw her arms around Chad and kissed his cheek. "OMG, that is fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Sara's enthusiasm was only dampened slightly when they made their way to the arena and Sara heard a familiar shriek and a voice calling.

"Miss Walsh" Blaine gushed as he ran over to her.

"Blaine" Sara greeted the young man as he rushed at her and Chad. Over Blaine's shoulder she could see Finn and who she assumed was Kurt. Kurt looked surprised and Finn looked, well Sara couldn't quite decipher it. "Chad, do you remember Blaine?"

"S'up Blaine" Chad said as he stuck out his hand.

"Miss Walsh, this is my better half, Kurt" Blaine said as he pushed Kurt forward.

"Nice to meet you Miss Walsh" Kurt said as he shook her hand.

"For tonight, I'm just Sara" Sara said.

"So the two of you are a couple" Chad asked, looking from Blaine to Kurt.

"Yes" Kurt nodded, putting an arm around Blaine's shoulders.

"And you" Chad nodded up to Finn.

"Chad" Sara hissed.

"I'm Kurt's brother" Finn replied. "My date couldn't make it" he said with a pointed look at Sara and Sara dropped her eyes to her shoes.

Once inside the area, Sara was upset to discover that the seats Chad had purchased were not only in the same section as Kurt, Blaine and Finn but they were about 8 rows behind them. When the concert began, Sara tried not to pay attention to the three young men in front of them or the fact that Finn kept turning around glancing back in her direction. Instead Sara just grabbed Chad's hand and danced along to the music with him since their seats were right on an isle.

"Finn" Kurt hissed. "The show is on the stage, not 8 rows behind us."

"Shit Kurt" Finn sighed. "I invited her to use my extra ticket and she turned me down. And now, she is here with that guy" Finn said as he jerked his thumb in their direction.

"Finn" Kurt began, "I haven't said anything because you haven't said anything. But Rachel told me, about your, cooling off period."

Finn put his hand on the back of his neck and tried to avoid his brother's eyes.

"Is Miss Walsh- Sara, is she why you said that to Rachel" Kurt asked.

"Did Rachel also tell you that Brody kissed her" Finn spat back angrily.

No, thought Kurt, but he had witnessed a couple of kisses between Brody and Rachel in the last couple of days but he decided against saying anything. "Blaine told me about your duet."

"Blaine" Finn hissed as he slapped the back of Blaine's head.

"What" Blaine said as he turned his attention away from the stage and focused on Kurt and Finn and the conversation he had not really been listening to.

"You told Kurt about the duet I did with Sara- what did you say" Finn asked.

"I told him it was hot. Seriously if it had been Kurt and I, we would have been sneaking away-"

"Blaine!" both Finn and Kurt yelled at the same time.

"Whatever" Finn said to Kurt, "it's beside the point now."

Finn tried really hard to enjoy the rest of the first half of the show without turning around, especially when the band sang "Lovin', Touchin,' Squeezin'" and "Anyway You Want It". When the intermission hit, Finn looked over at Kurt and Blaine. "I'm going to go get a soda, can I bring you anything" he asked.

"Soda" Blaine and Kurt echoed each other.

Finn took the stairs two at a time, trying hard not to notice Chad and Sara as he passed them.

As soon as Finn had disappeared from sight Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and dragged him up the 8 rows to where Sara and Chad were.

"Hi guys, enjoying the show" Kurt asked.

"Yeah it's great" Sara said enthusiastically.

"I was wondering if you guys wanted to switch seats with Blaine and I" Kurt said.

Blaine's mouth dropped open for a second before he realised what Kurt was up to.

"It's a little bit better seats for the two of you and we don't have to worry about any of our PDA squicking out Finn" Blaine explained, on board now.

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other in a couple of weeks" Kurt said.

"Wow, great thanks guys" Chad said as he put a hand on each of their shoulders.

When Sara and Chad were down in their seats, Blaine turned to Kurt. "Are you trying to set up Sara and Finn? What about Rachel? What about Chad?"

Kurt looked at Blaine. "Rachel and Finn are giving each other some space right now. She is kind of seeing this guy Brody at NYADA. And Chad- I don't get the impression he and Sara are together or at least not anymore. Maybe they were at one point but they don't seem particularly romantic anymore."

Blaine cooked his head and watched the couple sitting in their old seats. Maybe Kurt was right.

Finn came back carrying three soda's and was surprised to find Kurt and Blaine up in Sara and Chad's seats. "What's going on" he asked angrily.

"We thought we'd switch seats" Kurt explained. "You know, Blaine and I haven't seen each other in a while and we didn't want our PDA's to embarrass you."

And with that Blaine grabbed Kurt's face and kissed him hungrily.

Finn turned his head and tried to ignore his brother and the boy sucking his face off and walked down to where Sara and Chad were.

"Hi Finn" Sara said as she turned to motion back to Kurt and Blaine and explain what had happened but when she saw them, she instinctively knew they had already explained to Finn.

The band took the stage again and started the second half with one of Sara's favorites "Who's Cryin' Now". Finn couldn't help but watch her as she danced and sang along to the song but he also noticed that Sara's date Chad was too busy texting with his phone than to enjoy the music or Sara. Next the band performed a song called "Lights" before moved into "Don't Stop Believin" and Finn turned to look back at Kurt because the New Directions had performed this song a couple of times. Finn couldn't help himself from singing along. He was surprised when Sara started singing along with him, coming in to sing in the exact same spot Rachel had during Glee performances. His left hand was tapping out the beat on his hip and he was surprised to discover Sara had moved closer to him and was doing the same thing, their fingers occasionally brushing each other. After the third time, Finn couldn't help it and he took her hand in his. Sara looked up at him and smiled and so he didn't let go.

Kurt was watching the show and singing along when suddenly Blaine's grip on his hand tightened and he said "LOOOOOK" and he used his other hand to point to Finn and Sara just a head of them. She was holding Finn's hand and Kurt could tell they were singing together, although he could barely see their faces.

Finn dropped Sara's hand and took a sip of his soda as the band got ready to play their next song.

"I'm going to the bathroom Sara" Chad said as he gently took her arm and leaned down to speak quietly into her ear. Chad scooted past both Sara and Finn before taking the stairs and disappearing out of sight.

Finn looked at Sara, who was red cheeked and flushed. He held out his soda to her "Want some" he asked with his trademark half smirk.

"Do you mind" Sara asked.

Finn shook his head no and Sara took the cup from his hand and took a drink, her cranberry lip gloss leaving a crimson stain on the straw. Then she used her hand to try to wipe away the stain.

"Oh, Open Arms, I love this song" Sara sighed and she leaned in close to talk to Finn.

"I don't think I know it" Finn admitted.

"It's a wonderful love song" Sara explained as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the music for a moment.

"I'd ask you to dance" Finn said quietly into her ear, "but there is no room." Instead he wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into the side of his body and softly swayed to the music. This was not lost on Kurt and Blaine either and they joined them in a similar fashion. Kurt even put a hand out to stop Chad as he returned, and kept him from interrupting their moment. When Chad didn't try to deck Finn, Kurt figured his early guess about Chad and Sara's relationship was bang on.

After Open Arms the band moved into Faithfully and Finn suddenly dropped his arm from around Sara and he felt his body stiffen. Before Finn even knew what was happening, Kurt was right by his side and had his arms around his brother speaking to him in a gentle soothing voice, simply repeating "it's ok, you're going to be ok" and Sara was instantly reminded of the day she had puked in the choir room and how Finn had done the same thing to her. She reached out and put her hand on his back. But Blaine stepped in between her and Finn, and took her hand off of Finn and he put an arm around her shoulder and stepped in to whisper "This was a huge Rachel and Finn song. It's surprising he hasn't been more of a mess considering how much Journey Mr Shue has had them do." Chad looked at the four people beside him as if they were nuts and possessively unwrapped Blaine's arm from around Sara and replaced it with his own, pulling her closer to him, leaving a distinct gap between Finn, Kurt, Blaine and himself with Sara.

Finn then turned then, his eyes still wet with tears and wrapped an arm around Blaine and pulled the boys on each side of him to him much like he had with Sara and began to sing along. He looked briefly over Blaine's head to Sara but she was watching the stage and instead Finn found himself starring down Chad. Finn took his hand off Blaine's shoulder then and stretched as far as he could, his fingers just barely and lightly caressing her arm before she turned to look at him with a smile. He gave her a small smile as he continued to sing along.

It was obvious that was the end of the show as people were on their feet applauding and screaming for an encore. Blaine and Kurt went back to their seats and Finn was about to start up the stairs when the lead singer began to speak. "We're going to do an encore, it's not Journey but it is Steve Perry."

Sara turned and looked at Chad. "Oh Sherry" she squealed as she jumped up and down.

Chad shook his head and smiled. He had forgotten how contagious Sara's enthusiasm could be. But it was easy to see her influence on the people around her as Chad watched Finn begin to play air drums along with the song. Chad wondered if there was something going on with Finn and Sara but he figured he would wait until he had Sara alone to ask. Lord knows it would make the news he came to deliver a little easier if she was with someone here.

_**You should've been gone**__**  
**__**Knowing how I made you feel**__**  
**__**And I should've been gone**__**  
**__**After all your words of steel**__**  
**__**Oh I must've been a dreamer**__**  
**__**And I must've been someone else**__**  
**__**And we should've been over**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**__**  
**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**_

_**But I want to let go**__**  
**__**You'll go on hurtin' me**__**  
**__**You'd be better off alone**__**  
**__**If I'm not who you thought I'd be**__**But you know that there's a fever**__**  
**__**Oh that you'll never find nowhere else**__**  
**__**Can't you feel it burnin' - on-and-on**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**__**  
**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**__**  
**__**Oh Sherrie**__**But I should've been gone**__**  
**__**Long ago, far away**__**  
**__**And you should've been gone**__**  
**__**Now I know just why you stay**_

_**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**__**  
**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**__**Oh Sherrie, our love**__**  
**__**Holds on, holds on**_

**A/N: All Journey songs referenced belong to them not me. And Oh, Sherry is Steve Perry who was the front man of Journey for a**** long time. **


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara (and now Chad). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 21- Betrayal

The next morning Chad and Sara were seated at a small table at the Lima Bean discussing what they would do that day. Chad was drinking a latte and Sara had a chai. Chad knew now was going to be as good a time as any to talk to Sara about his new relationship.

"So Sara" Chad began, "are you seeing anyone here? Maybe that Finn guy from last night?"

Sara nearly choked on her chai and her eyes went wide as saucers. "No, why would you think that" Sara asked.

"I thought I saw some sparks between the two of you" Chad confessed. "His brother stopped me from coming back during that one song when Finn had his arms around you- that looked pretty 'together'" Chad said with a pointed look.

"That was nothing but enjoying some music" Sara replied hotly.

"If that's what you need to tell yourself" Chad smiled.

"He has a girlfriend. In New York. He almost married her last year" Sara rambled on trying to give Chad reasons to believe her that there was nothing going on between her and Finn. Truthfully though, Sara was trying to assure herself the same thing.

"Seems to me like he has a girlfriend here too Sara. I never figured you for the "other" girl before though" Chad lowered his voice.

"I am NOT the other girl" Sara hissed at Chad. "Besides, there is someone. I am seeing someone else" Sara said not meeting Chad's eyes. "It's only been a couple of kind of dates, but there is someone else."

"How many 'kind of' dates have there been and what does that even mean Sara" Chad grilled her.

"Three dates if you want to call them that. Swimming and a movie, desert and run and then pizza, a dvd and some making out if you must know all the details" Sara explained.

"Sounds more like gym buddy than a boyfriend Sara" Chad teased.

"I'm not in the habit of making out with my gym buddies Chadley" Sara mocked.

"And how was that, the making out" Chad asked.

"Are you asking me to compare him to you" Sara asked incredulously remembering why they had broken up in the first place, a complete lack of spark beyond the first few weeks.

"God no, but at least tell me you feel something" Chad admonished.

"The kissing is..." Sara stumbled for a minute thinking about Noah's lips hungry on hers. "Good. He is a good kisser" Sara admitted.

"But just good" Chad said as he raises his eyebrow for effect.

"It's not that it is something wrong" Sara began, her thoughts drifting to the day in the library when Finn had almost kissed her. Her tongue sneaked out and ran over her lips in anticipation because whenever Sara thought about that moment, there was nothing that stopped it from happening. Sara blushed a little before continuing. "But it is almost like something is- I don't know- off, not quite right-"

"Missing" Chad cut her off. "I think you want to be kissing this guy and enjoying it but you are thinking of kissing someone else. Maybe someone you think you can't have" he explained pointedly.

Sara's face burned crimson at his accusation.

"Ok what about you Chadley" Sara turned the conversation around. "Are you seeing someone?"

Chad paled for a moment and took a sip of his drink as he considered how to best bring up his new relationship. "I am seeing someone as a matter of fact" he announced.

Sara leaned in and whispered excitedly now, "Who, is it someone I know? How did you meet her?"

"It's Christie" Chad announced as he watched Sara and waited for the proverbial shoe to fall.

Sara looked blankly at first. "Christie who?" she mumbled before the realisation hit her and a slow half smile spread across her face. "You and Christie Christie" she announced.

"Yes Sara. I am dating that Christie" Chad confirmed.

"Wow. So when did this happen?" Sara asked.

"It's been a while Sara" Chad said as he reached for her hand. "And there is more. Christie is pregnant."

Sara pulled her hand away from Chad's like his touch had burned her. "Is it yours" she whispered.

Chad nodded. "It's part of the reason why I came down this weekend. We didn't want to spring all of this on you when you came up for your birthday weekend now that Christie is starting to show."

"She'a already showing? How far along is Christie? Is she doing ok? Why didn't she tell me?" Sara asked.

"She is fine Sara. I don't think she knew how to tell you this Sara." Chad stood and walked over to Sara and went to put his arms around her in a pre-emptive move. "Christie is 6 months pregnant" he said gently.

Sara looked at Chad while she did the math and shook her head as the facts began to sink in. "How can that be Chad? We only broke up 6 months ago? Did you start sleeping with her right away?" Sara fired question after question at Chad.

Chad just shook his head.

Sara pushed herself from Chad's arms. "You fucking asshole" she swore, gaining the attention of nearly every patron in the coffee shop including Blaine and Kurt who had just walked in. "You were sleeping with her, my roommate, my best friend, while we were together" she screamed. "How did you think you would be able to hide this from me?"

"Sara, ssshhhh please" Chad said as he moved towards her.

"Don't you dare touch me" Sara screamed at him as she picked up his latte and threw it at him. "Don't try to ssshh me. Just get out. Leave. You better be gone by the time I get home" she spat at him. "And don't mention a word of this to my aunt. Just tell her you got a call and had to go home."

Sara turned on her heel and found herself face to face with Blaine and Kurt. Kurt held his arms out and Sara crumpled into them sobbing.

"Sara" Chad began keeping his distance but close enough that he was speaking softly, "we can talk more about this when you come home for your birthday."

Sara lifted her head from Kurt's shoulder. "Why would I come home to you traitorous bastard and that houseful of backstabbing sluts" Sara hissed. "I will not be spending my birthday with you."

"I'm sorry Sara. We didn't mean for this for this to happen. I didn't break up with you because Christie was pregnant. You and I both know, we were not working out as a couple romantically and you deserve fireworks" Chad said

"Great, so now I deserved this" Sara spat at Chad.

"No Sara. You deserve something real, something great. I'm sorry" Chad said as he walked out of the coffee shop, still dripping coffee.

"Are you alright" Kurt asked when Chad had left.

"Oh jeeze" Sara exclaimed. "I'm so sorry I just crumpled into you like that Kurt" she apologized. "And your shirt" she said poking at the wet spot from her tears.

"It's not a big deal as long as you are ok" Kurt said.

"Can I get you something Miss Walsh? Blaine asked from behind them.

Sara croaked out a laugh, "I think you should probably just call me Sara, Blaine. What a mess" she exclaimed.

Kurt and Blaine chuckled with her then before Blaine disappeared up to the counter and reappeared with coffee for Kurt and he plus a bottle of water for Sara and some pastries for the three of them. They sat back down at Sara's table and Kurt pulled up an extra chair. Kurt reached out and put his hand over hers. "Are you sure you are ok? That seemed a little intense" he said as he tried not to pry.

"I will be as long as I don't have to see him anymore" Sara admitted. "I just can't believe he slept with someone else and got her pregnant while he was with me and that they've all been keeping this from me."

Kurt looked confused. "So you and Chad were dating?"

Sara sniffed loudly. "Last year for a couple of months. We broke up in April. And now Christie, my ex-roommate, my ex-best friend is pregnant with his baby. 6 months pregnant. Do the math" she challenged.

Blaine and Kurt exchanged glances.

"You are better off without him" Blaine said and Kurt nodded. "He didn't strike me as very nice. Besides I am sure there are plenty of good guys around here to date."

Kurt kicked Blaine under the table and Sara laughed. "I'm not interested in dating anyone else. I'm already sort of seeing someone here" she replied.

Blaine raised an eyebrow to Kurt. Were Sara and Finn already secretly dating? Was that why he cooled things with Rachel?

Kurt looked at Sara, "Now you just need some new friends" he said matter of factly.

Sara nodded, "I think I do."

"Well you have a couple right here if you don't mind being friends with a couple of kids" Blaine said as he reached a hand across the table.

Sara put her hand over his and giggled. "What am I going to do with you now Blaine? I can't very well expect you to call me Miss Walsh at school can I" she asked.

Blaine smiled at her. "I can do that and just call you Sara in private like Finn does" he said.

Sara blushed and lowered her eyes. "That's just like how Finn and I call Mr Shue by his first name too when you guys aren't around" Sara explained.

"Speaking of Finn" Blaine continued as Kurt's eyebrows shot high in the air. "I bet he would be more than happy to be your friend here too" he said.

"Blaine" Kurt hissed.

Sara brought her hands up to her flaming cheeks and sighed. "He's been a pretty good friend already" she admitted. "I don't think his girlfriend would be too happy for me to be buddy buddy with her guy though."

Blaine opened his mouth to tell Sara that Finn and Rachel were over but Kurt's expression made him change his mind. It would be better for Finn to tell Sara himself.

"I should really go" Sara said as she stood. "Thank you both for everything" she said as she leaned in to hug each of them in turn. Sara looked around the coffee shop and then sat back down.

"What's wrong" Kurt asked.

"Chad. He drove here. I have no way home" Sara laughed.

Kurt laughed along with her. "We've got you. C'mon let's get out of here."

When Kurt and Blaine returned to the Hudson-Hummel home they found Puck and Finn sitting on the floor in the basement playing video games.

"S'up boys" Puck smirked at them.

"Hello Noah, Finn" Kurt said as he sat down on the couch behind Finn. Kurt could have sworn he saw Noah flush just a little when he used his given name.

"Hi Blaine" Finn said as patted the couch behind Puck in an invitation for Blaine to sit.

"Hi Finn, Puck" Blaine said as he sat down and looked at the screen.

Kurt let out a sigh. "Are you guys going to play video games all night" he asked. "We wanted to watch a movie."

"Just let us finish our game and then we'll go" Finn said.

"Ok thanks Finn" Kurt said as he took Blaine by the hand and pulled him towards his bedroom. "Just give a knock when you're done" he instructed as he closed the bedroom door behind them.

"Dude, your mom and Burt really allow the two of them alone like that in the bedroom" Puck asked Finn.

Finn looked over at Puck and pursed his lips. "It's a given that they will consider that anyone could walk in at anytime, but at least this way we don't have uncomfortably witness their…connection" Finn said as he struggled to find the right words.

Puck laughed. "They've got it made. I'm sure your mom and Burt don't allow you to have Rachel up in your room with the doors closed."

Finn shrugged. "Not all the way, no. But they know I've been to visit her in New York and they've been to the loft so unless they think I am sleeping on that tiny couch or sharing a bed with Kurt" Finn shuddered "then they've got to know I'm sleeping with her. Or was sleeping with her I mean."

"Sorry" Puck said, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Nah it's ok. I mean it's kind of your fault" Finn said.

"My fault" Puck exclaimed as he killed Finn's character in the game.

"Yeah" Finn said as he shut down the console and knocked on Kurt's door. "All yours Kurt and Blaine."

Puck and Finn climbed the stairs together, "You were the one who put that stupid idea of me and Sara in my head. Then that Brody goes and kisses Rachel and suddenly, how easy is it for me to give us each the chance to explore other relationships without feeling like an ass" he explained.

"Oh" Puck said.

"It's too bad it looks like she's got a douche of a boyfriend already" Finn said.

"Really" Puck asked. "How do you know that?"

"He crashed Glee rehearsal yesterday and then he and Sara showed up at the Journey concert last night. You should have come on my extra ticket last night man. Then you could have met Miss Walsh too" Finn said as he punched Puck in the arm.

"Thanks to Mr Shue I've about had a lifetime full of Journey man" Puck said as he punched Finn back.

"It's not that bad" Finn said.

"So how was the concert? Were Kurt and Blaine all over each other?" Puck asked.

"They were pretty cool about it for the first half and then they traded seats with Miss Walsh and her boyfriend and they were behind us, so I don't even want to think about what they were doing" Finn said sheepishly.

"You spent half of the concert sitting next to her" Puck said. "Did you make a move?"

"No, not really" Finn confessed. No way was he telling Puck he held or hand or held her and swayed to the music with her or that Kurt had to comfort him during Faithfully. That was just too sappy and Puck would never let him live it down. "Her boyfriend was right there on the other side of her. I didn't want to start a fight in the middle of a concert."

"No I guess that's not very cool" Puck admitted.

"So what's up with you and Zena" Finn asked turning the conversation on Puck.

"Turns out her name is Sara too. How wild is that" Puck said.

"That would be awesome if we were both dating Sara's" Finn said.

"It'd be better if they were twins" Puck said with an evil grin.

Finn laughed before high fiving his best friend.

"Anyhow, we did dinner and a movie at her place Thursday night. A big bacondouble cheeseburger pizza, a James Bond flic and some brownies" Puck said.

"And did you make your move" Finn asked turning Puck's question back on him.

Puck grinned. "Of course I did. We were having a great time until old lady Murphy walked in. But once the movie was over we moved things to the bedroom" Puck said. He let Finn infer what he wanted. There was no way Puck was admitting he was in a girls room and didn't seal the deal. Worse, no way was Puck telling Finn how he held Sara while she cried and snuggled with her on her bed, fully clothed.

"Dude you are amazing" Finn said. "So when do I get to meet her and give her the best friend stamp of approval?"

"I don't know, if we're still together maybe I'll bring her to your party if that's cool" Puck suggested.

"That would be great" Finn replied.

"You should invite your Sara too" Puck said. "We'll show her how Mavrick and his wingman roll."

"Alright" Finn agreed.

Sara spent the rest of the weekend just moping around the house. It was easy enough to convince her Aunt Emily that her funk was due to Chad having to leave early without going into the details as to why Chad had to leave. Sara sent carefully scripted emails to Melody and Annie that explained she would not be returning to Toledo for her birthday and they were not to contact her. She would decide what she was doing beyond that and when she finished her time in Lima at a later date.

On Sunday, Sara thought about calling Noah but she figured another needy mess would cause him to run screaming and she was enjoying his company. For a brief moment, Sara considered texting Finn and using some lame Glee club excuse to get together (maybe to go over songs for next week) but she hesitated because things were almost dangerous between them. If Sara was honest with herself (and Sara had always had a problem with that), there was chemistry, a definite pull between her and Finn. But like she told Chad, she had no intention of being the "other" woman. And Sara would NOT put Rachel, who she did not even know, in the position Chad and Christie had put her in. To Sara, it made little difference that she and Chad were no longer together. Their betrayal had started while they were together and now there would always be a reminder of that.

Sara pulled out Billy's cd and put it in her cd player before she began pulling the pictures in the frames out and replacing them with the photos of Billy and her parents. Sara didn't think anything when the doorbell rang, and she was surprised when her Aunt Emily called her out to the door. Fearing it was Chad or Christie Sara steeled herself as she walked up the hallway. However, when she arrived at the foyer, Sara was pleasantly surprised to find Blaine standing there with two take out cups from Lima Bean and a brown paper bag that she was assuming held some type of pastry.

"I hope you don't mind I stopped by Miss Walsh" Blaine said. "I thought I might pick your brain about something for Glee" he said.

Sara looked at Blaine with a confused look. "Ok. Why don't we go out onto the patio and talk." Sara noticed her aunt was looking at them funny and so Sara stopped to introduce them. "Aunt Em, this is Blaine. One of the students in the glee club I am working with at McKinley. Blaine, this is my aunt Emily Murphy."

Sara noticed her aunt's posture shifted a little as Sara led Blaine out to the patio.

"I got you a chai" Blaine said as he handed her a cup and tore up the bag to reveal two chocolate croissants. "I remembered you demanded Chad not tell your aunt what happened so I figured a needed a little cover story. I'm not really here to talk about Glee." Sara relaxed a bit and let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Kurt left for New York this morning," Blaine explained "and he made me promise that I would check on you today."

Sara smiled. "The two of you are very cute together" she remarked as Blaine blushed. "And that was very sweet of both of you. I'm ok though."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure- I may not answer it but you can ask" Sara joked.

"You said something about your birthday to Chad. Is it coming up soon?" Blaine asked.

"Soon enough" Sara replied.

"Too personal" Blaine quipped and Sara nodded. "Well Finn and I are throwing a party next weekend. On Saturday if you want to join us."

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Why are you and Finn throwing a party together?"

Blaine laughed. "Finn always has a Halloween bash. Normally his mom puts it together. But you know, he thought this year he should take care of it on his own. But the poor guy is in over his head and he enlisted my help."

"Now, that makes a little more sense" Sara laughed. "I don't think you guys would want me there. Given my position, I'd have to make sure things were to the letter of the law" Sara gave Blaine a pointed look.

Blaine frowned for a minute. "You couldn't turn a blind eye for a night? What about if you were in a costume and no one knew it was you" he suggested.

Sara shook her head. "No, I don't think I could do that."

Blaine thought for a moment. It was doubtful he could convince everyone to make the party a dry one, especially Puck who had already decided he was the official liquor provider for the party. Rumour was he had quite the stockpile already for the party. Maybe they could just be sneaky he thought with a sly smile. "Just think about it" he said as he got up off his chair. "I should be going. I'll see you at school tomorrow."


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. Song credits listed at the end. **

Chapter 22-Admissions and Things Better Left Unsaid

When Sara arrived at school on Monday she had taken the first two songs on their list for the week and put together a crude mash up to try. She spent some time before class making copies of the music and lyrics for Will and glee kids before heading to Dan Thayer's class. She was leading a couple of lessons again today, but this time it was his lessons and she was giving them. At lunch time, Sara walked out of the classroom, buy scribbling notes regarding her lesson in a notebook, that she didn't notice when Finn stepped in front of her and she collided with his chest.

Finn instinctively reached out and grabbed the tops of her arms to steady Sara. His fingers lightly caressing the suede fabric of the peridot green shirt she was wearing with a knee length denim skirt. Her hair was held back with a clip, with messy curls threatening to escape at any moment.

"God Finn, I'm sorry" Sara said as she lightly blushed and bent to pick up the notebook and pen she dropped during the collision. As she did so, her skirt rode up her thighs just a little, exposing more leg than Finn thought he had ever seen on her. Finn suddenly felt very warm and started to feel uncomfortable until he noticed her green flat tennis shoes and he smiled.

"Nice shoes Sara" he said with a smile as she straightened up beside him.

"Thanks" she replied as she looked up at him and smiled.

Finn slid his backpack down his arm and brought it across his chest so he could open it. "I have a couple of things in here for you" he said as he dug around the bag. "Wanna have lunch and talk about these" he asked as he pulled out a couple of college brochures for Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

"Sure- where do you want to eat?" she asked.

"The choir room might be kind of quiet and it won't be a problem to eat in there as long we don't start a food fight" Finn said as they started to walk towards the choir room together. Finn continued to dig into his bag and he came up with a cd that he gave to Sara. "You shared Nickelback with me, so here is a cd for you" he said.

"Thanks" Sara said as she took the cd from him and tucked it into the front pocket of her messenger bag.

Finn continued to dig in his backpack and came up with a final offering. It was rectangular and wrapped in clear cellophane. It looked like a burnt, heavy loaf of bread. "This is from Kurt. He made my mom promise she would make some yesterday before he left to go back to New York. And then he told me I was to bring you a loaf" he said as he offered it to Sara.

Sara looked at Finn suspiciously until he continued. "It's banana bread. My mom makes amazing banana bread. There are nuts and chocolate chips in it too and a pinch of cinnamon" he said as he offered the loaf again.

Sara took the loaf and smiled. "Thanks" she said unsure of what else to say.

"I didn't know you and Kurt knew each other" Finn started. "But he explained that he and Blaine had run into you at the Lima Bean on Saturday and hung out for a while. And he was very adamant that you might need a bit of my mom's banana bread which is known as the cheer up food of all of our friends."

"Great" Sara said with a hint of sadness behind her smile. "What else did Kurt tell you" she asked.

"He didn't" Finn said. "Kurt said any more details would have to come from you and I had to promise I wouldn't pester you about it." Finn reached over and pushed open the choir room door for them, Sara casually walking under his outstretched arm. "I'm a pretty good listener though, for a guy" Finn confessed.

Sara looked at him panickedly. "There is not much to tell. Just some so-called-friends keeping things from me- things that maybe shouldn't hurt but do" Sara said as she sat down on a chair, her skirt again riding a lighter higher up her legs. She took a brown paper bag from her messenger bag and removed an apple and a bottle of water.

Finn reached over and touched her shoulder. "Does this have something to do with Chad?"

Sara nodded not trusting her voice and taking another bite of her apple.

Finn gave Sara's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, his fingers again relishing in the touch of her shirt. Part of him wanted to rub his face against it but he somehow didn't think that was a good idea. "I'm sorry" Finn started, "you and him together, it doesn't make sense to me."

"We're not together" Sara said flatly.

"Ok, so you just broke up but I don't understand why you were together in the first place. You seem very different- but maybe I just don't really know you. And I definitely don't know him other than he obviously did something to hurt you and that's just not cool" Finn explained. He took out his own lunch and started eating his sandwhich.

Sara looked at Finn with a confused look. "Chad and I broke up about 6 months ago. We just decided we would be better off friends" she explained. "He just came down this weekend to visit so he could break the news to me about his new girlfriend and tell me about their baby on the way, before I went home for my birthday and found out all about it." Sara opened her sandwich and began to eat it.

"Are you really this upset that he is dating someone new, even if they are having a baby" Finn asked as he took a swig of his gatorade.

"Finn, he's dating, sleeping with, playing house with my ex-best friend, my ex-roommate" Sara replied huffily. "I would be more than happy for them being together if it hadn't happened at my expense. I'm not the kind of person who just begrudges their friends happiness for no reason." Sara finished off her sandwich then.

"Ok" Finn said, "I know something about best friends stealing away your girlfriend/boyfriend, and yes it does suck. But if you guys had broken up, what's the problem?" Finn shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth then.

"The problem Finn, is that Chad was sleeping with Christie when we were still together, which is evidence to the fact that we broke up 6 months ago and Christie is currently 6 months pregnant" Sara said softly as she hung her head and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Christ Sara" Finn said as he slid out of his chair and knelt on the floor in front of her, wrapping his arms around her, gently rubbing her back. "I understand this a lot better than you probably think I do" he whispered as he tilted her head back and rubbed the thumb of his right hand over her cheeks, trying to dry her tears. "The beginning of sophomore year, I was quarterback of the football team and I was dating the head cheerleader. Things were wonderful. And then suddenly my beautiful girlfriend told me she was pregnant with my baby. I was a mess. I felt like I had let so many people down. Quinn, my mom, myself- it was horrible" Finn gave Sara a weak smile when he realised she had stopped crying and was staring at him. Finn took his hand from her face and put his arm around her again and leaned his forehead against hers like he was sharing some deep dark secret with her.

"Turned out though, that Quinn's baby wasn't mine, it was Puck's. And Puck was my best friend" Finn explained. "It was a huge mess, and it was crazy. And I didn't think I could ever get over it. But I did. Quinn and I even dated again for a little bit but we had both just changed so much that we couldn't get it back, but we're friends now and that is a million times better. And Puck, he's my best friend again. Sure, we were on the outs for quite some time but we were all able to move on" he said softly.

"Finn, that's horrible" Sara exclaimed.

"It sure felt that way" Finn admitted and he moved his forehead away from hers and brought his hands to her shoulders and then ran them down her arms. "But we're all past that now, and I think you'll be able to move past this with Chad and Christie too" he said. "When were you supposed to go home" he asked as he sat down next to her again.

"I'm not going home anytime soon now" Sara said grumpily with a pout.

"When were you supposed to go home? When is your birthday?" Finn asked.

Sara blew out a deep breath. "This weekend- the big 21" she announced.

"Cool, I'll be 19 soon" he announced. "And you have to come to the party Blaine and I are having this weekend since it is your birthday. I'll get you a cake and maybe I'll be able to wrestle up a bottle of bubbly to celebrate with" Finn explained as he unwrapped the banana bread from his mom and offered Sara a slice.

Sara laughed as she took the slice of banana bread. "Blaine already invited me" she confessed. "But I don't know if I can come. And don't buy me any champagne. I can't contribute to the delinquency of a minor" she explained.

"You're cute when you get all 'teacher-y'" Finn said with a chuckle.

Sara's only reply was to stick out her tongue. And Finn responded in kind sticking his own tongue out at her as well while mumbling something like "Mine's longer".

"I'll think about it" Sara relented in response to the party invitation. "I might have other plans that night, a date maybe" she said thinking about Noah.

"Oh, ok" Finn said as he sat back in his chair and grabbed for a piece of the banana bread and absently put it in his mouth. "Bring him along too" he said between bites.

"I'll think about it ok" Sara said again before joking, "sure have some of MY banana bread."

Finn opened his mouth wide to show half a slice, mid-chew. "Want it back" he asked.

Sara laughed and pushed him away. Her response was so surprising to Finn that he almost fell out of his chair. "Besides, MY mother made it" he said.

"Because Kurt asked her to, for ME" Sara counted.

"Greedy, Greedy" Finn said as he handed the rest of the loaf back to Sara.

"All I want is what I… I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share" Sara said as she channeled her best Sally Brown impersonation from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

"Oh I'll give you your fair share missy" Finn exclaimed as he grabbed another piece of the banana bread and this time tried to shove the whole slice into Sara's mouth at once. Finn laughed as Sara struggled to eat as much as she could while he held the rest of the slice right at her mouth, waiting to shove it in as well.

When Sara had swallowed the first part, she opened her mouth to take more, nipping at Finn's fingers as she did so. Finn suddenly felt very warm and aware of the fact that the tips of his fingers had been in Sara's mouth. His eyes found hers and he discovered she was flushed and staring at him with a look he had not seen on her before. He watched as her eyes flicked to his throat as he swallowed and he did the same as she swallowed the last of the banana bread.

"Thank you mom for the banana bread" Sara said softly, breaking their connection. "It really is quite good."

"I will," Finn said as he pulled back and absently ran his thumb over the tips of his other four fingers on his right hand. They were warm and still damp. He looked over to Sara again from the corner of his eyes and watched her blush. Finn concentrated on finishing his gatorade.

Chad's voice suddenly was pounding in Sara's ears. "I thought I saw some sparks between the two of you" it said. "Seems to me like he has a girlfriend here too Sara. I never figured you for the "other" girl before though" it continued. "I think you want to be kissing this guy and enjoying it but you are thinking of kissing someone else. Maybe someone you think you can't have" it finished. Sara thought of Noah then and how maybe when she was kissing him she was really trying to imagine kissing Finn. How many times in the last few weeks had Finn Hudson managed to completely throw Sara into a hormone induced tailspin? Far too many to count.

"Uh, maybe we should look at these college brochures" Sara said as she poked at Finn's backpack with her foot. "Maybe we can find you a school in New York close to Rachel."

When Finn heard Rachel's name tumble from Sara's lips, he put down the gatorade. "Rachel and I aren't together anymore" Finn said quietly. "I'll still go to New York if there is a good school there and I can get in. And maybe if I am there, maybe Rachel and I can give it a try again."

Sara studied Finn's face with this new piece of information. She wasn't sure what to make of it. He didn't seem overly upset but he was clearly not sure if being without Rachel was the right choice. "Can I ask what happened" Sara asked. She wanted to put her hand out and touch his arm in comfort but things were definitely charged between them and the thought of Finn not being with Rachel was suddenly making Sara's stomach flip flop.

"Rachel went to New York to be everything she and I knew she could be. I just don't know if being tied to me via a relationship while I am here is what is best for her" Finn started. He shifted in his seat and turned his body closer to Sara's. "And there was this guy when I went to New York. I could tell he liked Rachel. And Rachel admitted that he had confessed certain feelings for her while she told him about me. But he kissed her, and she told me. And I feel like, she should be able to explore these things and not be stuck in a stupid long distance relationship."

"But it wasn't just about her and Brody. It was about me too. You know, we're young and we should be enjoying this time in our lives. And everything else in my life just seems so messed up, shouldn't I try to be a little happy? And as much as I love Rachel, I know I would be happier in a relationship that is NOT long distance. Maybe I am making a big mistake, but if I am, I am going to own it. Now, if a great girl would just fall into my lap, things would be great" he said with a smile.

A very small and quiet voice in Sara's head was telling her to jump into his lap and kiss him senseless. Unfortunately though, Sara didn't think that would solve anything. Instead, Sara nodded, "You do deserve to be happy and kudos to you for being the bigger man about Brody kissing Rachel. I guess compared to Quinn and Puck though, it doesn't seem like such a big deal?"

"Exactly" Finn said with a smile. "Know any girls that would want to go out with an ex- football player, ex-National glee club champion with no real future direction" he jokingly asked.

"Let me see if I can't find one before your party" Sara said a solemn smile.

That afternoon at Glee rehearsal, Sara unveiled her mash up of two songs from the five they were considering for sectionals. It was a mash up of Here Without You by 3 Doors Down and All or Nothing by Theory of a Deadman. Sara had only the vaguest of ideas on some type of choreography which she hadn't had a chance to note down plus it wouldn't work well for Artie or Unique and not to mention the song would be mostly sung by the boys. Sara hoped the kids in glee had a basic idea how to waltz, it was what she was basing her choreography on for the majority of the group. Sara blew out a nervous breath as she distributed papers to the group and walked through some basic blocking and choreography with them.

_**Sam-**__ When I first saw you standing there _

_you know it was a little hard not to stare,_

_So nervous when I drove you home_

_You know being apart is a little hard to bear_

_**Joe-**__ Send some flowers to your work in hopes_

_That I'd have you in my arms again_

_We kissed that night before I left_

_Still now that's something that I could never forget_

_**Sam/Joe/Britt/Sugar- **__You've got all that I need_

_**Tina-**__ I'm here without you, baby_

_But you're still on my lonely mind_

_I think about you, baby_

_And I dream about you all the time_

_**Blaine-**__ I'm here without you, baby_

_But you're still with me in my dreams_

_And tonight it's only you and me._

_**Jake-**__ The miles just keep rollin'_

_As the people leave their way to say hello_

_I've heard this life is over rated_

_But I hope that it gets better as we go_

_**Ryder-**__ Let's take a chance go far away today_

_And never look back again_

_Since I said I loved you in Los Vegas_

_It's never been the same since then_

_**Jake/Kitty/Ryder/Marley- **__You've got all that I need_

_**Tina-**__ I'm here without you, baby_

_But you're still on my lonely mind_

_I think about you, baby_

_And I dream about you all the time_

_**Blaine-**__ I'm here without you, baby_

_But you're still with me in my dreams_

_And tonight girl, it's only you and me_

_**Artie-**__ Everything I know and anywhere I go_

_It gets hard but it won't take away my love_

_And when the last one falls_

_When it's all said and done_

_It gets hard but it won't take away my love_

_**Unique**__- This is it nothing to hide_

_One more kiss never say goodbye_

_This is it babe your all mine_

_Looking at all or nothing_

_Babe it's you and I_

_**Blaine-**__ I know that I'm good for something_

_So let's go give it a try_

_We've got our backs against the ocean _

_It's just us against the world_

_**All-**__ Looking at all or nothing_

_Babe it's you and I_

_**Blaine-**__I know that I'm good for something_

_So let's go give it a try_

_**All- **__We've got our backs against the ocean _

_It's just us against the world_

_Looking at all or nothing_

_Babe it's you and I_

_Looking at all or nothing_

_Babe it's you and I_

_Babe it's you and I_

They spent the better part of 60 minutes going over lyrics, music, choreography bits and pieces at a time. But before they left for the day, the group tried the number once from the top, no stops and Sara was once again stuck by how talented these kids were. Will, Finn and she were sitting in the first row of seats watching the kids perform. As they were finishing, Will looked over at Sara "Not bad for your first mashup- a little raw and probably not great for sectionals but good job". Sara felt herself relax into a smile as the three of them stood up to applaud the kids.

While Will took to the stage to go over a couple of things with the group before the end of rehearsal, Finn reached out and put a hand on Sara's knee. Then he dropped his head close to hers and whispered, his lips almost touching her ear, "This was good. But if you have time, stick around after practice and we'll listen to that cd I gave you." Sara shivered and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, not tonight" Sara whispered back, leaning her body into Finn's shoulder. "Maybe tomorrow after practice?" she suggested. Sara was still thinking about their lunchtime activities and how Finn had made her feel a whole multitude of things she couldn't even explain. Sara knew she needed a good workout to try to process all of those feelings and yearnings she was having regarding Finn before she decided what to do or before he did something they couldn't move past. And Sara felt a need to kiss Noah again and see where things really were with them and not daydream about kissing Finn Hudson instead.

"Sure, ok" Finn said as Blaine jumped off the stage and came towards them.

"That was a great mashup of the songs Miss-Sara" Blaine said as he dropped his voice before saying her name.

"Blaine" Finn said abruptly.

"It's ok Finn" Sara said with a smile.

Finn folded his arms over his chest and pouted like a disappointed child.

"Are you going to work on any other mash ups for this week?" Blaine asked. "I could help you with them maybe" he suggested.

Sara shook her head. "No I don't think so. This came out of a need to work this weekend instead of ranging and venting and kicking things in frustration" she explained. "I have some other work this week- another assessment lesson on Thursday and a couple of last minute things for my theme for next week too."

"Can you give me a hint?" Blaine asked.

Sara shook her head no. "Sorry. And I need to get out of here guys. So see you tomorrow. And Finn, thank your mom again."

Blaine turned on his heel and looked at Finn. "What did your mom do?" he asked.

"Kurt had mom make some banana bread for Sara and he told me to deliver it. And I did" Finn said with a shrug.

"Did Kurt tell you why?" Blaine grilled him.

"No Mr. Snoopy, Kurt told me if I wanted details, I would have to ask Sara. So I did and she told me about Chad and her friend Christie and the baby" Finn admitted knowing Blaine obviously knew the story too.

"Did you tell her about Puck and Quinn and Beth- because it struck me how similar your stories are" Blaine asked.

Finn looked blankly at Blaine, "Now why didn't I think of that" he said before he smiled and playfully punched Blaine in the arm.

Blaine laughed and tried unsuccessfully to push Finn into the chair. "So are you and Sara…" he trailed off hoping Finn would get the idea and define their relationship for him.

"Are Sara and I what?" Finn asked, this time genuinely confused.

Blaine sighed. "Do you like her?"

Finn suddenly became very interested in his shoes as he replied, "She's ok."

Blaine took Finn by the shoulders and shook him a little. "Listen, anyone who saw your duet with Sara last week knows there is something going on there. I'm asking you, as your brothers' boyfriend, the person who promised Kurt I would look out for you when he went to New York, what is going on with you and Sara?"

Finn stood up as tall as he could and shook off Blaines grasp, taking a step forward and towering over Blaine. "First, I appreciate the thought, but I don't need anyone 'looking out for me'. Second, if there was something going on it wouldn't really be your guys business and third, there is nothing going on."

Blaine folded his arms over his chest and huffed impatiently; it wasn't the first time he and Finn had butted heads and it surely would not be the last. "You do need someone in your corner here- sometimes you are a complete mess. But lately, there is a sense of determination to you. And if there is nothing going on between you and Sara it could be because she is under the impression that you are still with Rachel."

Finn relaxed a little as he replied, "No I told her today that Rachel and I split up. I think the reason nothing is going on is because she has a boyfriend. I just don't know who it is."

Blaine frowned and slumped a little. "Yeah she said something about that to Kurt and I too but part of me thought maybe it wasn't true or that maybe it was secretly you" he admitted with a sly smile. "I think the two of you would be great together. And Kurt is trying really hard to be objective since he is living with Rachel, but I think he liked Sara too. And I love Rachel, Finn, I do. But I really like Sara" Blaine confessed.

"I'm telling Kurt" Finn joked as he bent down to pick up his bag to leave. He did not notice his cell phone as it slipped out of the pocket and slid under one of the auditorium chairs. "God," Finn sighed as they left the auditorium, "first Puck, now you and Kurt. Geeze everyone is trying to set me up with Sara. I guess she must be pretty special."

Blaine looked over at Finn with a pointed look.

Finn threw his hands in the air. "Ok, ok, I admit it. There is something special about her. I like her. A lot. Maybe too much."

_****A/N**_

**__Songs are: _Here Without You _by 3 doors down & _All or Nothing_ by Theory of a Deadman**


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life. Song credits listed at the end.**

Chapter 23- Kissing You

Sara got out to her car and pulled out her phone and called Noah.

"Go for Puckerman" Noah said as his usual greeting.

"Hi Noah, it's Sara" she said.

"Hey sexy lady" he said and Sara could almost hear his smile.

Sara chuckled at him before she continued. "Do you have time for a run and then to maybe hang out a bit tonight?"

"Sure- just tell me when and where" Noah said.

"Want to meet me at McKinley in about 15 minutes?" Sara asked. "I just need to run home and change and I'll meet you at the track?"

"Sure" Noah said. "See you in a bit."

"Bye" Sara said as she hung up and pulled out of the staff parking lot at McKinley.

Sara quickly drove back to her aunts house. She took her stuff from the car and dropped it in the entry before she jogged to her room and changed from her skirt and blouse into a pair of black yoga pants and a hot pink sports bra. Sara unpinned her hair and threw it into a quick bun secured with a couple of elastic bands. She added her favorite grey fleece hoodie and grabbed her favorite ball cap, undoing the velcro so she could stick her bun through the opening at the back and tying her sneakers. On her way back out, Sara grabbed the cd Finn had given her earlier in the day.

Puck was just pulling into the McKinley parking lot when he saw Blaine and Finn crossing the parking lot to their cars.

"Hey guys, late rehersal?" Puck called to Finn.

"Hey man" Finn said as he crossed over to where Puck was getting out of his truck and high fived him. Blaine walked over to join them. "Nah, rehearsal ended a while ago but Blaine here was trying to convince me that I need to make something happen with Sara."

"Fuckin' right" Puck said as he held his hand in the air for Blaine to high five and Blaine did so reluctantly.

"We're really sure she's got a boyfriend though" Blaine said.

"So, get her to the party Saturday night. Let her bring the guy even. If need be I'll create a distraction. I'll get all of us in on this if I have to" Puck exclaimed. "Then when pretty boy is distracted, you move in for the Hudson kill."

Finn chuckled, "My moves aren't that legendary Puck."

"So I'll coach you" Puck said with a scoff, "'cause mine are."

"What are you doing here this time of night?" Blaine asked Puck.

"I'm going to go run on the track with my girl" Puck said as he gestured to his attire.

"Oh" Finn said with a smirk. "Should I stick around and meet her?"

"Nah" Puck said. "She might feel self conscious about meeting the best friend in her sweats and such. I promise, I'll bring her to the party Saturday. "

"Why do I get the feeling you don't want me to meet her?" Finn asked eyeing Puck suspiciously.

"It's not that at all Finn. You're going to love her" Puck said with a laugh.

"Do you love her?" Blaine asked.

"You know I'm not like that" Puck said putting his tough badass persona back on. "But Finn totally is. He's all hearts and flowers and love at first sight shit."

"I'm not" Finn started to protest and then stopped. He did propose to his high school girlfriend. He had hated casual sex with Santana, and he liked being in a relationship. Maybe he was 'all hearts and flowers' and everything else Puck had said. "Ok maybe I am" he admitted.

"Now both of you, scram before she gets here. I'll introduce you all to her Saturday. I promise! Just make sure you get your girl to the party too. C'mon Blaine help the guy out- you know you're a teacher's wet dream" Puck teased.

"Puck-apologize to Blaine- that was uncalled for" Finn snapped at his best friend. Sometimes Puck took things a little too far and Finn was overly sensitive especially to Kurt and now Blaine.

Puck put his hands in the air in surrender. "I'm sorry Blaine, Finn's right. Uncalled for. But try to help him with Miss HotforFinn ok."

Blaine nodded both to the apology and what Finn was asking. Blaine didn't say anything, instead he and Finn walked back to their respective vehicles and waved to each other before leaving the school grounds. But the way he saw it, Sara Walsh needed this group of friends now more than ever given what had happened on the weekend.

On the way back to McKinely, Sara popped the cd into the player. The first song was 'Don't Rain on My Parade' but it was a live version and did not sound like Barbara Streisand Sara continued to listen and heard the voice exclaim "Ladies and Gentlemen, the New Directions" and Sara knew the cd was a collection of music from the past New Directions. And the voice was probably Rachel. Finn's Rachel. _Finn's ex-Rachel_ she corrected herself. The next song was 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' and Sara smiled when Finn's voice filled the tiny space in her car. After that, the next song began before Sara arrived at the school. It was 'Faithfully' by Journey but it was Finn and Rachel singing and suddenly Sara thought of the concert on Friday night and how Kurt had embraced Finn during the song. No wonder she thought. Sara wanted to hear it to the end so she circled around a couple of blocks allowing the song to end before pressing pause and pulling into the school parking lot, at the end closest to the school. The song had been emotionally charged for her, realizing who it was and what had happened and Sara had to dab a Kleenex at her eyes before getting out of the car.

Sara got out of her car and waved to Noah who was waiting by his truck at the other end of the parking lot. She walked over to where he was and he instinctively tucked her hand into his. They walked quietly towards the track before Noah said anything. "Are you ok? Last time I saw you, we talked about some stuff that upset you."

Sara looked blankly at him first, but then she remembered the pictures of her parents and Billy. "Oh gosh Noah. I had such a crap weekend I forgot all about that. How long did you stay?" Sara asked.

"I fell asleep too on top of your covers" Noah admitted. "Your aunt came by just about midnight and shooed me out of the house."

"Oh, Noah I am sorry, I bet Aunt Em was none too pleased" Sara said as they reached the track. It was full of people tonight unlike the last time they had been there.

"No she was pretty great actually Sara" Noah said. "She was kind of surprised when I told her you told me about your parents and Billy."

Sara nodded, she could understand that. "There is still a lot to tell, especially about Billy. But another day" Sara admitted.

Noah nodded. "I understand. But hey, you were excited about your friend coming down this weekend. How did it turn into a crap weekend?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't even want to get into it" Sara waved him off. "I got a little perspective on it today and I am just ready to run and let it go. Push it out" she said. Sara unzipped her hoodie and took it off, laying it on one of the benches closest to them.

They stretched together then walked a warm up lap of the track before they started running. They ran a couple of laps together until Noah was sure she was running at her peak running pace and then he took off and lapped her a couple of times before coming back to join her again for two more laps. Sara liked watching Noah run. He was fast, he was strong and he was pretty easy on the eyes but just a little rough around the edges.

"Just answer already" Finn muttered into the phone.

"Hello" Kurt said as he answered a call from home.

"Kurt! I need Blaine's phone number" Finn exclaimed as soon as his brother had said hello.

"Why are you calling me long distance from home? Why didn't you just text me?" Kurt asked.

"Part of the reason why I need Blaine's phone number. I think I left my phone at the school somewhere today- I need his help" Finn explained.

"Oh ok, hang on" Kurt said before he rattled off Blaines's home and cell phone number's for Finn. "Good luck!"

"Thanks Kurt. See you this weekend!" Finn said as he hung up the phone and called Blaine.

"Hello" Blaine said as he answered the phone.

"Blaine, buddy you've got to help me. Can you meet me at McKinley?" Finn said rapidly.

"Finn?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah, sorry it's me. I think I left my cell at the school and I need it. I was hoping if we go to the school right away someone might still be there to let us like a janitor or a teacher or something and we can call my cell and just keep calling it with your cell until we find it" Finn explained.

Blaine groaned. "Finn" he whined, "I just got home from there. I have a Chem Lab to finish and I wanted to skype with Kurt tonight too. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

Finn sighed. "Not really. I was going to text Sara tonight and work on her about coming to the party. You do want her to come to the party right?" he asked. "I mean you did tell Puck you would help me."

Blaine smacked his palm to his forehead and shook his head before responding. "I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Thanks Blaine, I owe you" Finn said.

"You bet you do" Blaine replied before hanging up.

"Do you have any plans for Saturday night" Noah asked Sara as they were walking their cool down laps around the track.

"Not really, why?" Sara said as she looked at Noah.

"My friend is having a party Saturday night, I thought it might be fun for us to go to. You could meet some of my friends" he explained as they stopped walking and began stretching.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Ummmm, someone from work is having a party too and they invited me but I don't know if I really want to go, but I feel like I should make an appearance" Sara said.

"Well, we could meet up later and go to my friends, or I can go to your work party first and we can use my party as an excuse to leave" Noah suggested.

"That sounds great" Sara admitted.

"It's a costume party" Noah said. "Do you have any kind of costume?"

"I might be able to pull something together. What are you going as?" Sara asked.

"This is a yearly bash. I always go as the devil" Noah said. He sat down on the ground and began stretching his arms behind his back, leaning forward , almost touching his nose to his toes. "Did you want to do a couples costume?" he asked.

Sara pursed her lips as she thought about it and continued stretching. "I might be able to pull and angel costume together" she said after some consideration. "Or is that too much?"

Noah grinned mischievously. "No I think that would be pretty awesome. You'd make a totally believeable hot angel" he remarked.

Sara laughed. "I don't think angels are supposed to be hot Noah."

"But you are" he said as he stood up and came over to capture her lips with his.

Sara stretched on her tip toes to throw her arms around his neck and kissed Noah back. Her mind flooded with images of Noah dressed as a devil and she as an angel. Sara knew hanging in the back of her closet was a white dress that still had it's tags attached that could work quite well for her costume. This weekend could be a lot of fun indeed.

Noah pulled away from the kiss and grabbed Sara by the hand. He walked over to where their bottles of water and her hoodie was to pick them up. "Come with me" Noah said as he led Sara towards the bleachers. He climbed the stairs with her to the top and over to the announcer's booth. Noah pounded on the door and waited. When no one answered he looked over at Sara before reaching up high, above the doorframe and bringing down a single key. He shoved it into the lock and twisted, turning the knob at the same time and the door opened. Noah nodded inside and Sara stepped into the darkish room.

"What's this?" Sara asked after she stepped inside and sat down in one of the chairs.

"This is the announcer booth for football games" Noah said tongue in cheek.

Sara cocked her head at Noah, "I know that. I mean what are we doing here?"

"Well" Noah began as he moved his chair closer to hers and put his hands on her knees, "I thought maybe we could do a little more of this." He brought his lips to hers in a tender kiss and Sara smiled through the kiss. "I'll leave the door open if you prefer" he said as he removed her hat.

Sara nodded as she brought her lips back to his. Sara brought a hand up to run over the mixture of stubble and hair in his mohawk on his head. She felt Noah smile as her hands touched him. His hands slid up her legs to her waist, pulling her in closer to him. Sara nibbled on his bottom lip before he thrust his tongue into her mouth, twirling with hers hungrily. Noah's hands moved around to the small of her back which was bare. His fingers were lightly splayed and gently caressing her cooling skin. Sara was instantly struck with the memories of Finn's hands on her back and she subconsciously moaned into the kiss.

Noah pulled his lips from hers for a moment and pulled Sara up from her chair, closer to him and then down across his lap. His hands found the bare skin of her back again before he claimed her lips once more. Their tongues thrashed possessively in each others mouths as their kissing deepened and deepened. Sara had to keep opening her eyes however, because her thoughts were betraying her and when her eyes were closed for too long, the image behind her lids was of Finn and not Noah.

Sara put her hands on Noah chest and pushed away, breaking their kiss. "I'm sorry, I need a moment" she said as she tried to collect her thoughts and banish Finn from her mind. She knew it wasn't fair to Noah and she didn't want to be that girl. Sara closed her eyes and counted to ten, slowly inhaling and exhaling. With her last inhale, Sara tilted her head back just a little and suddenly Noah was dropping soft little kisses along her neck. Sara whimpered as he kissed along the line of her neck and into her shoulder. Sara put her hands on his face and pulled his lips back up to hers.

They kissed for a while more and when Noah broke their kiss this time, it was getting quite dark and the track was less full than it had been. "It's getting late" Noah said, "and this is not the place for anything other than what we've been doing. So before I loose my will power, why don't we call it a night?" he suggested.

Sara climbed off his lap and kissed the tip of his nose. "Thank you Noah" she said appreciatively as she picked up her hat and water bottle from the floor and unhooked her hoodie from the chair. Noah followed behind her, shutting the door, locking it and returning the key to the top of the ledge. The climbed down the steps hand in hand.

"So tell me more about this party" Sara said as they walked back to the parking lot. The air was cooler now, and Sara pulled on her hoodie and didn't notice her hat fall on the ground.

"It's a typical house party" Noah said. "Probably about 50 people or so, and we have a great dj. Plus I am bringing my guitar because we almost always end up jamming a little bit. And there will probably be some karaoke and some of it might not be any good at all" he laughed. "But a good time is had by all. And crashing for the night is not only recommended but is encouraged if you so feel like it."

Sara looked Noah with a raised eyebrow. "Should I plan on driving?" she asked. "I don't think I am up for crashing all night at a house party of someone I have just met."

Noah laughed. "I guess that is a little weird" he admitted. "Wow, I've never not crashed this party but no, I'll definitely make sure you get home alright."

"Thanks" Sara said looking relieved. When they were almost at Noah's truck Sara realised her hat was missing. "Shit, I must have dropped my hat" she said as she turned to walk back from where they came.

"Wait" Noah said as she turned around.

"No Noah, it's ok. Go on home" Sara said. "I'm just going to get my hat and head home too. I'll call you later this week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday and we'll get together."

Noah jogged back to where Sara was and kissed her lightly. "Good night Sara" he said before he jogged back to his truck, climbed in and drove off.

Sara had to walk almost all the way back to the bleachers before she found her hat. She jammed it on her head, pulling the bun through the opening again and pulling the elastics out and allowing her hair to fall in loose waves down to the middle of her back. Sara shrugged out of her hoodie and tied it around her waist before jogging back to her car.

"We've tried every door Finn, they're all locked. And no one is answering when we pound on them" Blaine said. "I think it is time to go."

"I need my phone Blaine" Finn said. "Do you think any of the cheerios or ex cheerios would have Coach Sylvester's number?"

"Even if they did, I don't think Coach Sylvester would help you out here" Blaine said.

"You are probably right" Finn admitted. "ARGH!" he screamed and kicked a garbage can.

Finn and Blaine walked back towards their cars. There were still a handful of cars in the parking lot and a couple of people still on the track or the football field. But when they reached the parking lot, Finn noticed the yellow vw bug in the parking lot whose lights flashed as the owner unlocked it. Finn looked around and saw a familiar figure walking towards them.

"Sara" Finn said not sure he was seeing correctly in the dark.

"Finn, Blaine" Sara said as she jogged over to them.

"Were you just out on the track?" Blaine asked as he nodded to her apparel.

Sara looked down and was suddenly self conscious about how much skin she was showing so she grabbed her hoodie from around her waist and pulled it on. Sara looked up at Finn who was staring at her semi exposed body and she blushed as a smile of appreciation swept his face. "Yeah I was running a bit. Good exercise, helps push through some of the crap from the last couple of days" she admitted.

"My buddy and his girlfriend were out running the track tonight too" Finn said.

"There were a lot of people running tonight" Sara said. "So what are you guys still doing here?"

"Blaine came back to help me find my phone. I must have left it somewhere in the school today. But it's locked so we can't get in" Finn said.

"This couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Sara asked.

"Busted" Blaine coughed.

Finn colored red and looked pointedly at Blaine. "No, I'd prefer to have my phone back tonight" he said.

Sara opened her car door and leaned across the drivers seat and pulled out her keys. "You are in luck Finn Hudson," she said with a smile, "I have keys and can let you in to the school."

"Do you have a cell phone in there too?" Blaine asked.

Sara reached in and pulled out her cell "yes" she said.

Blaine clapped Finn on the back. "Sara has a phone, I'm going home." Then he turned to Sara, "Thanks."

"Thanks Blaine" Finn said with a wave as Blaine walked over to his car and then drove away. Finn followed Sara to the entrance of the school off the teachers parking lot. "Wait here" she ordered while she slipped inside the main vestibule.

Finn watched as Sara wrote on a clip board hanging on the wall and then punched in a code. Then she turned around and pushed open the door for Finn.

"C'mon, let's find your phone. Where should we check?"

Finn thought for a second, "I know I had it before glee so my guess is it is in the auditorium, or between the auditorium and the parking lot."

The two of them started walking towards the auditorium.

"Truth?" Finn asked.

"Huh" Sara questioned.

"Do you want to know the truth as to why I wanted my phone tonight?" Finn asked.

"Yes that would be nice" Sara admitted.

"I wanted to be able to text you tonight or call you tonight about the party this weekend. You should really come-even if just for a little bit. Bring your guy too" Finn said.

Sara colored. "So Blaine knows" she said.

"Knows what?" Finn asked as he pushed open the doors to the auditorium. He looked at Sara as she walked past him but he stopped her by taking her hand. She turned and looked at him. "Listen, I don't know what is going on here between you and me. But I like you. And Blaine knows that. And he also knows that I really want you to come to the party on the weekend, even if just for a little bit."

"Why?" Sara asked.

"Because I really enjoy spending time with you Sara and call me crazy but I think you like spending time with me too" Finn admitted.

Sara wriggled out of his grip and started to walk towards the stage.

"Call my cell Sara" Finn said as he walked behind her.

"What" Sara asked as she turned around to look at him.

"Call my cell" Finn repeated. "The phone will ring and we will know if it is in here or not." Finn watched as Sara touched a couple of buttons on her phone and all of a sudden a familiar song sounded in the auditorium near the stage.

"Seriously- why do you have this as your ring tone?" Sara whined as she heard the beginning of Nickelback's Figured You Out come from Finn's cell phone.

"I haven't been able to get this song out of mind since I first heard it come out of your phone" Finn admitted. "So I set it as your ringtone. And no I don't think this song is particularly you but I wouldn't know this song without you."

"Fine" Sara groaned. "But I am on a mission now, to get you to change that ring tone to something far better."

"Fine by me" Finn said as he bent down to pick up his phone from under and bank of seats at the front of the auditorium. "Thanks for all the help" Finn said as they walked back out of the auditorium.

"Sure" Sara said.

Finn stuck a hand out to touch the curls spilling out over Sara's back as she walked in front of him. "Do you want to know another truth?" he asked.

Sara nodded.

"You look really great with your hair down" Finn said simply as they stood there in the auditorium.

"Thank you" Sara said as she blushed.

"Do I have a ring tone?" Finn asked as they began to walk out. He dialed Sara's phone number before she could respond. The beginning notes of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls floated out of her phone before Finn hung up. "That's Iris" he said.

"It's a favorite song of mine" Sara said. "It is my default ringtone for anyone in my contact list."

"Oh" Finn said with disappointment. They walked the halls in silence until they reached the entrance they had come in.

"I will come to the party Saturday" Sara said finally. "I can't stay long, I do have other plans, but I will come by."

"That's great" Finn said as he quickly hugged Sara. "Be sure to save me a dance. Good night Sara" he said as he walked out the door leaving Sara to sign out and set the alarm again.


	24. Chapter 24

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

Chapter 24- Confrontation

Finn woke up Tuesday morning feeling like he had been hit by a train. "Urgh" he groaned as he fell back into his pillows. Of all the times to get sick; just days before his annual Halloween bash. Especially now that Sara had agreed to at least stop by, Finn couldn't believe his bad luck. Finn hadn't even had a chance to let Puck or Blaine know yet. He would send them a text this morning, but first he had to phone Burt and his mom and then Mr Shue and let him know he wouldn't be at Glee.

"Hello" Carole said as she answered the phone.

"Mom" Finn coughed, "can you tell Burt I'm sick today?"

"Oh, sure honey. Can I bring you anything?" Carole asked her son.

"Maybe some soup around lunchtime" Finn suggested. "I think I am just going to get something to drink and take some cold meds and go back to bed this morning. "

"Ok Finn. I'll see you at lunchtime then. Get some rest" Carole said.

"Bye mom. Thanks" Finn said.

Next Finn called Mr Shuester.

"Hello" Will Shuester answered his telephone as he walked into the Lima Bean on his way to work.

"Hey Mr Shue, it's Finn" he said with all the energy he could muster.

"You don't sound so good Finn" Will said as he waited in line at the café.

"I feel like I got hit by a train" Finn admitted. "I won't be in today, maybe not even tomorrow. But if anything important comes up, can you get Sara to text me about it? Or call me? Can you also let Coach Bieste know? I was supposed to help with with some weight room work this afternoon."

"Sure, I can let Shannon know. So you and Sara, you guys have gotten to be good friends haven't you?" Will asked.

"Friends, yes, and we're getting to know each other better and better everyday" Finn admitted. "She's quite nice and has been very gracious, talking to me about how she came to choose teaching as a profession and she's even offered to help me look at education programs at different schools."

"Are you thinking you might want to be a teacher Finn?" Will asked incredulously.

"I'm not sure, but maybe. It is the first thing that has intrigued me in a while" Finn confessed.

"Well good for you Finn. You know Emma and I will help you in any way we can too, whatever you decided you want to do" Will said to the younger man.

"I know Mr Shue, thanks" Finn said before he started coughing.

"Ok Finn, take it easy and rest today and let me know how you're feeling tomorrow" Will said as he stepped up to place his order.

"Thanks Mr Shue" Finn said as he collapsed back onto his bed again with a groan.

Finn picked his phone back up and sent a quick text to Blaine.

**FINN: Sara said yes**

**BLAINE: Really?!**

**FINN: She has other plans with the boyfriend but she said they would stop by**

**BLAINE: That's great!**

**FINN: I'm out sick today maybe see you tomorrow**

**BLAINE: Feel better soon.**

**FINN: Thanks man**

Then Finn got up and walked to his small kitchen to get a glass water and stopped by his bathroom to take some cold medicine before crawling back into his bed. He picked up his phone and sent a text to Puck.

**MAVERICK: I'm home sick today maybe tomorrow too but you need to teach me your moves cause Sara said yes to Saturday night and hopefully I wont feel like Ive been hit by a train then**

**WINGMAN: Dude bad timing to be sick but hell yeah on her saying yes**

**MAVERICK: yeah sounds like she is bringing the boyfriend though and they have other plans so they are just "stopping by" so you need to come up with a good distraction/reason to stay or some super moves that work quickly**

**WINGMAN: I'll do my best dude**

**MAVERICK: Hurts to keep eyes open and text ttyl when I feel more human**

**WINGMAN: Gotcha**

Finn coughed and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sara was surprised at lunch time when Finn didn't show up at Dan Thayer's classroom or hadn't texted her to meet him for lunch. She was getting used to spending time with him. Instead Sara headed back to the staff lunchroom and went over and sat back down with Will, Emma, Shannon and the dreaded Sue Sylvester.

"You're still here" Sue quipped as Sara sat down.

"It would appear that way wouldn't it" Sara replied.

"What Sue means" Emma started, "is that we haven't seen you eating lunch in here with us for a couple of days."

"I've been working on some teaching assignments and lesson plans in the library at lunchtime" Sara said.

"Funny" Sue said, "I don't remember when the choir room became the library. And I am pretty sure yesterday at lunch when I walked past the choir room I saw you and Frankenteen in there. And it didn't even look like you were eating lunch" she stated.

Sara's eyebrows rose and her cheeked flamed. "We were so eating lunch" she stammered.

"Frankenteen?" Shannon asked, unsure who Sue was talking about.

"You know, one of Wills kids from last year that hangs around here like his some mixture of student and teacher, but is really just a Lima Loser with nothing better to do" Sue explained.

Sara put her hands flat on the table and pushed back her chair. "Finn Hudson is NOT a Lima Loser Sue!" she exclaimed loudly. "He's just a kid that's lost his way a bit and is looking for a little direction and encouragement. And he is smart enough to know the right places to look for it. At a school- with teachers who he has trusted for the last couple of years, like Will, Shannon and Emma" she continued.

Sue placed her hands on the table and leaned her upper body across the table almost coming nose to nose with Sara. "And where do you fit in Tinkerbell? Because I am pretty sure that Peter Pan has a Wendy."

"Sue knock it off" Will said as he put his hands on Sue's shoulders to pull her back from Sara.

"Take your greasy jazz hands off me Shuester" Sue spat as she stood up. "Don't think I'm done with you yet Thumbelina" Sue said as she left the room.

Sara sat back down and took a couple of deep breaths. "Oh that woman" she grumbled.

"Sara, just how much time have you and Finn been spending together?" Will asked.

"A little bit" Sara admitted. "Maybe too much."

"You do know he has a girlfriend right?" Emma asked, taking her hand.

Sara turned and looked at Emma. "Not anymore, Finn and Rachel broke up last week after he returned from NYC."

"What?!" Will asked incredulously.

"That's what he told me yesterday. They broke up. He's not against going to New York to go to school though, and he said maybe if he does, they will end up back together. But for now they are free to date other people" Sara said.

Shannon looked at Sara, "You like him don't you?"

Sara bit her lip and nodded. "He's a great guy" she admitted.

"But…there sounds like there is a but there" Shannon said.

"But" Sara smiled weakly, "I'm kind of seeing someone else."

Emma tilted her head and looked at Sara and smiled. "But you like Finn."

Sara folded her arms across the table in front of her and put her head down. "God this is embarrassing" she mumbled. "But I can't stop thinking about Finn."

Shannon put her arm around Sara. "He's a great kid sugar. If you guys are getting along, that's great."

Sara lifted her head. "That's just it, he's a kid" she said.

Will Shuester rolled his eyes. "You're what all of 20 years old?" he asked.

"21 on Friday" Sara replied tartly.

"Well Finn will be 19 the end of November. You're just as much a kid as he is" Will explained.

"As of Friday, I am legal all across this country. Finn won't be for another 2 years. Plus he is like a student here" Sara said exasperated.

"He's technically not a student here. More like a volunteer" Emma said.

"And I'm seeing someone else" Sara said she rubbed at her temples.

At the end of the day Sara walked into the choir room conflicted. She was still reeling from her run in with Sue at lunch time and her confession session with Will, Emma and Shannon. Sara was surprised the Finn was not already in the choir room like he normally was. Blaine walked into the room, talking to Kurt on his phone.

" …told me via text this morning that she's coming Saturday night" Blaine said. "Speak of the devil" Blaine grinned. "Say Hi to Kurt" he thrust the phone out to Sara.

"Hi Kurt! Thanks for getting Finn's mom to make that banana bread for me. It was great" Sara said into the phone.

Sara could hear Kurt saying something but she couldn't make it out, so she grabbed the phone from Blaine. "Say again Kurt?" she asked.

"I was just saying that I am excited you are coming to the party Saturday. It'll be fun I promise. And if there is any music you want to hear, get copies to Artie or Blaine" Kurt said.

"I'm just going to pop in for a quick hi. I have other plans, a date actually, that night" Sara confessed almost sadly.

"Oh" Kurt said tight lipped. "Can I talk to Blaine now?" he asked.

"Sure, talk to you later Kurt" Sara said as she handed the phone back to Blaine and motioned to her watch to remind Blaine they would be starting soon as he walked over to the corner and quickly said goodbye to Kurt.

Will Shuester walked into the room and clapped his hands to get the group's attention. Sara looked around the room and was surprised to still not see Finn. "Ok everyone, Finn is away today and tomorrow as well but hopefully he will be back with us all on Thursday. So let's see what we can do with this Goo-Goo Dolls song. The song is long enough that the first time I would like everyone to take a stanza so we can hear your voices and we can decide on any solos. Ideally I'd like to see a group for the chorus and maybe a couple of solos for the verses."

After everyone has sang, Will announced he would like everyone to sing the chorus, with Blaine and Sam singing the verses and Unique to sing the "you see you'd love to run home" bridge.

_All-Broadway is dark tonight  
A little bit weaker than you used to be  
Broadway is dark tonight  
See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar  
Waitin' for his turn to die_

_Blaine-The cowboy kills the rock star_  
_And Friday night's gone too far_  
_The dim light hides the years_  
_On all the faded girls_

_Sam-Forgotten but not gone_  
_You drink it off your mind_  
_You talk about the world_  
_Like it's some place that you've been_

_Unique-You see you'd love to run home_  
_But you know you ain't got one_  
_'Cause you're livin' in a world_  
_That you're best forgotten, around here_

_All-Broadway is dark tonight_  
_A little bit weaker than you used to be_  
_Broadway is dark tonight_  
_See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar_  
_Waitin' for his turn to die_

_Blaine-You choke down all your anger_  
_Forget your only son_  
_You pray to statues_  
_When you sober up for fun_

_Sam-Your anger don't impress me_  
_The world slapped in your face_  
_It always rains like hell_  
_On the loser's day parade_

_Unique-You see you'd love to run home_  
_But you know, ain't got one_  
_'Cause you're livin' in a world_  
_That you're best forgotten_

_Blaine-When you're thinkin' you're a joke_  
_And nobody's gonna listen_  
_To the one small point I know_  
_They've been missing around here_

_All-Broadway is dark tonight_  
_A little bit weaker than you used to be_  
_Broadway is dark tonight_  
_See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar_  
_Waitin' for his turn to die_

_Unique-You see you'd love to run home_  
_But you know, ain't got one_  
_'Cause you're livin' in a world_  
_That you're best forgotten_

_Sam-And if you're thinkin' you're a joke_  
_Do you think that they'll listen?_  
_To the one small point I know_  
_They've been missing around here, 'round here_

_All-Broadway is dark tonight_  
_A little bit weaker than you used to be_  
_Broadway is dark tonight_  
_See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar_  
_Waitin' for his turn to die_

Will turned and looked at Sara with a sour look on his face. "I don't think this will do at all."

Sara nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, I really thought this would be a good one but you are right; just not good." Sara didn't bother to tell Will that listening to a Goo Goo Dolls song reminded her of Finn and the conversation they had had the previous evening about Iris being her default ringtone. But Sara had already told Will far too much about Finn.

"Ok guys, let's call it an early day. I just don't think this song is what we are looking for either. We'll start fresh tomorrow" Will said as everyone started gathering their stuff to leave. "Finn asked me to have you text him with anything important from today," Will said to Sara. "Would you let him know this song didn't work and ask him if he gets the chance to research some more songs?"

"Sure, I guess" Sara said. She pulled out her phone and was about to text Finn when Blaine came over. He motioned for Sara to follow him and they moved away from Will Shuester who was now going over the musical arrangement for tomorrow's song with the jazz band and Brad.

"So Finn told me you said you'll come to the party on Saturday" Blaine said. "That's great. If you have any music requests, get them to me on cd ok."

"I'm not staying that long Blaine" Sara said with a pointed look. "I have a date that night."

Blaine held up his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, ok. Just at least come say hi to Kurt and I."

"I will" Sara promised. Sara picked back up her phone to continue texting Finn.

Blaine nodded at the phone, "Is that the boyfriend?"

Sara shook her head. "It's Finn. Mr Shue wants me to text him and tell him today's song was a bust and to see if he can come up with some more."

"I can do that if you want" Blaine said. "We have a couple of party issues to discuss anyway."

Sara chewed her lip before responding. "Sure. Just tell him we did Broadway by the Goo Goo Dolls and that it was not good. And tell him…"Sara trailed off.

"Tell him what?" Blaine asked.

"Tell him I said Iris" Sara smiled.

On the way home from the school, Sara stopped at a craft shop and picked up a couple of items she would need to complete her angel costume for the weekend. Sara knew she would need wire, elastic, white feathers and a thin but stretchy white material. Sara would also need some gold garland to make a halo. She paid for her purchases before heading home and starting on her wings.

Emily Murphy stopped by her niece's room and saw her hard at work on a craft project of some sort. "What are you making dear?" she asked.

"Angel wings for a costume party this weekend" Sara replied. She still hadn't told her aunt that she was not going to Toledo for the weekend and would instead be staying in Lima, but since Emily Murphy would be in Alberta for the weekend Sara didn't see how it mattered much anyway.

"Very nice" Emily said to her niece. "Do you have a dress or a gown to wear as your costume?"

"I do" Sara said as she rose and went to her walk in closet. She came out carrying a grey garment bag. She unzipped the zipper and pulled out a strapless white dress that was just below the knee in length in the front and almost to the floor in the back. The skirt of dress was covered with a sheer white material flecked with bits of gold and silver, and the same material crossed from the left side, across the chest and up over the otherwise bare right shoulder, hanging loose almost like a scarf once it met the top of the back of the dress again.

"Gorgeous" Emily said as Sara held out the dress, showing off both the front and the back. "Do you have shoes?" she asked.

"I am sure I have a pair of white shoes in my closet" Sara replied as she zipped the dress back into its bag and returned it to her closet. When Sara came back out her aunt was gone but she quickly returned with a pair of glittery gold heels in her hands.

"Try these" Emily said as she thrust the shoes to Sara.

The shoes were a much higher heel than Sara was used to wearing, but Sara figured she should be able to teeter around in them with Noah to hang onto all night. They fit perfectly and would go very nicely with her dress. "Thank you Aunt Emily" Sara said with a smile.

"Don't forget, I am leaving tomorrow afternoon and I will be back Monday afternoon" Emily reminded her niece. "I don't mind if you have Noah or any other friends over while I am away, but no overnight guests please. And make sure you lock the place up right before you leave for Toledo."

Sara nodded absentmindedly. "I will Aunt Em. I promise."

Blaine sent a text to Finn before he left the school.

**BLAINE: How are you feeling?**

**FINN: Horrible**

**BLAINE: Well you are in good company, we did Broadway by the Goo Goo Dolls and it was horrible too. Sara wanted me to tell you that. And 'Iris' she said.**

**FINN: Iris- have you ever seen that movie Blaine?**

**BLAINE: I've never seen a movie called Iris.**

**FINN: No the Meg Ryan one with Nick Cage about Angels**

**BLAINE: Oh, City of Angels. Yeah I have. That's right, Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls is in that movie.**

**FINN: Yeah. Anything else?**

**BLAINE: Mr Shue says we need more sectional songs. And everyone is asking about crashing. Are we going to do that again?**

**FINN: Yeah, its good. You and Kurt can stay in mom and Burt's room. We'll use Kurt's room and the spare room for the girls, and my room for the guys plus the guys can crash downstairs too.**

**FINN: Or whatever. We'll figure it out. Just make sure everyone brings pillows and sleeping bags. We did not have enough by half last year.**

**FINN: Is that it? My head feels like someone is trying to open it with a jackhammer.**

**BLAINE: Do you need anything?**

**FINN: Nah, mom stopped by with soup and some sandwhiches at lunch time, plus juice and cold medicine.**

**BLAINE: Are you going to be ok for the party?**

**FINN: I don't care if I have to change my costume to a doctor, dope myself up on cold meds and wear a surgical mask- we are having this party and I will be there.**

**BLAINE: LOL well get better soon!**

**A/N: Song is Broadway by The Goo-Goo Dolls (and a mention of Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls and the movie City of Angels as well)**


	25. Chapter 25

******DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

**A/N: I've reached over 100 views now- yay! so here is a new chapter even though I am farther behind in my writing than I would like to be. **

**_Chapter 25- Confessions_**

Wednesday at lunch Sara was not surprised to find Finn was not around again. Will had said after all that Finn would be away until Thursday. Sara debated having a quick bite walking the hallways and ducking into the library for the rest of the time so she could avoid the staff lunch room and another possible confrontation with Sue Sylvester and more grilling from Will, Emma and Shannon about Finn. Instead of hiding, Sara held her head high and walked into the lunch room. A quick look around and Sara discovered that thankfully Sue was nowhere to be seen.

Sara slid into a chair between Emma and Shannon, across from Will and pulled out her lunch. "I sure hope today's song goes better" Sara said to Will. "I'm getting nervous."

Will looked up at her and smiled. "It's nothing to be nervous about. We've still got time. I actually think singing all these different songs helps them because we aren't just focusing on the numbers for sectionals and they don't get bored and complacent with the performance" he explained. Will looked over at Emma and touched her hand. "Remember that sectionals when Sue leaked their set list to the other glee clubs and they had to come with something new from scratch right there?"

"Oh my goodness I was so scared for them and I had no idea what to do to help them. Thank goodness for Rachel. But they needed you Will" Emma said sincerely to her fiancé.

"But I couldn't be there, but at least that meant I was here to force Finn to step up and let the rest go. I knew he was a leader long before he did" Will said.

"Hang on what?" Shannon asked.

"This was the year before you came. The glee club was all set to do two great numbers. The first was a powerhouse solo by Mercedes. And that in itself was a miracle because we had convinced Rachel that it was for the best of the group" Will tilted his head in remembrance. "And we had also worked on a Proud Mary number with all the kids in wheelchairs as a tribute to Artie because we had to do all that fundraising so he could travel by bus with us. And we were doing a Journey number."

Emma picked up the story. "Will had been suspended by the board over a silly misunderstanding and so I was their faculty advisor. And we got there and one group was doing Mercedes solo, and then they did Proud Mary- even in wheelchairs. And the other group, deaf kids, did the same Journey number. The kids were furious, scared and upset" she continued. "Rachel rallied them all and they agreed as a group she would be the one to pull a solo out of thin air in less than hour and she really did. But that still left them without a group number. And to top it all off, Finn had quit Glee just before for personal reasons" Emma explained.

"But because I wasn't there, I was able to track down Finn. And although he would not have admitted it, he was worried about his teammates and when I told him things were not looking good, I could see it in his eyes- that desire to be their hero" Will stated. "But he was struggling to let go of all the crap that was going on. He asked me why he had to be the bigger man, be the leader, be the hero, why couldn't he just be a regular guy. So I told him 'you can't always get what you want'."

Sara spoke up her eyes twinkling. "Let me guess, Rachel sang 'Don't Rain on my Parade' and Finn arrived with 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'".

"Did Finn tell you this story?" Will asked.

"Not exactly" Sara replied. "He gave me a cd with New Directions performances on them and those were the first two." Sara thought for a moment. "Wow, they pulled those together in less than an hour? Impressive."

"Now you see why I'm not so worried" Will said.

Sara looked at Will and pursed her lips. "The personal stuff, the crap Finn was dealing with, why he left Glee. Did that have anything to do with Puck and Quinn and…" Sara trailed off unsure just how much Will knew about that situation if at all.

"And the baby?" Will finished. "Yes, that was exactly what happened. I'm surprised you've heard about it though. Finn felt pretty stupid when it all came out."

Sara considered this for a moment. "He shared a brief version of the story with me the other day. I was upset about something and he found a couple of parallels so I guess he wanted me to know he understood where I was coming from."

"Oh" Emma said in a tiny voice.

"Wait a minute" Shannon said. "Why didn't anyone tell me all of this when I got here?" I really worked that kid over when I first arrived" she explained. "He had this huge attitude about having to try out for quarterback again and I figured with that attitude and only being a junior and having been the quarterback sophomore year, I thought he just had a huge ego and I was determined to knock him down a few pegs." Shannon nodded her head and smiled a little. "Once I was able to get past my initial impressions I saw that leadership you were mentioning and let him take his rightful place on the team. But that all could have been avoided" she said thoughtfully.

Will sighed and looked at Shannon. "If you remember, Sue and I were not exactly nice to you when you first came aboard. I wasn't going to do anything to make your life easier then" he explained.

"Oh right" Shannon said as she remembered.

"Really?!" Sara exclaimed. "So it's not just me then? With Sue?"

"It's not just you, it's all Sue" the three voices around the table chorused back to Sara.

That afternoon at Glee rehearsal Sara set out to have a better day than yesterday. The problem was the songs they had selected so far, did not lend themselves too well to a group number and Sara wanted to include as many of the group as possible and not just on the harmonies. She could tell from the cd that Finn had made her that this was not the way that the New Directions always did things, but there was also evidence that sometimes it could work. They sang through the song together, all at once, before Will and Sara started giving direction as to who should be singing and when. They ended up with an arrangement that looked like this.

_Blaine-Go on and close the curtains__  
__Cause all we need is candle light__  
__You and me and a bottle of wine__  
__Going to hold you tonight__  
_

_Artie-Well we know I'm going away__  
__And how I wish, I wish it weren't so__  
__So take this wine and drink with me__  
__Let's delay our misery_

_ALL-Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_Blaine-There's a log on the fire__  
__And it burns like me for you__  
__Tomorrow comes with one desire__  
__To take me away it's true__  
_

_Sam-It ain't easy to say goodbye__  
__Darling please don't start to cry__  
__Cause girl you know I've got to go, oh__  
__Lord I wish it wasn't so_

_ALL-Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_Joe-Tomorrow comes to take me away__  
__I wish that I, that I could stay__  
__Girl you know I've got to go, oh__  
__Lord I wish it wasn't so_

_ALL-Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone_

_ALL-Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone__  
__Save tonight__  
__And fight the break of dawn__  
__Come tomorrow__  
__Tomorrow I'll be gone__  
_

_Artie-Save tonight_

Will looked at Sara and nodded. "Definitely better" he said. "We still need to work on some choreography. Can you and Brittany, Jake and Tina work on some while the rest of the group focus on the music for a bit?" Will asked Sara.

Sara nodded and called her group over and they got started but honestly Sara's head just wasn't in it. As the days ticked by Sara was growing more and more weary of her birthday and thinking back to how she had spent her birthday in the recent years. On her 19th birthday Sara had been in Montreal and had spent the day in the rain on top of Mount Royal, overlooking the whole gloomy grey city below. Days later her aunt Emily had finally come looking for her and had given her an ultimatum. If she wanted access to her trust anymore, she had to come back to Ohio with her and go back to school. And if she didn't do that, the money would stop. Sara wasn't spending it lavishly, she was trying to be frugal about it but she wasn't working either to make any of her own money. She was sleeping when she wanted, going where she felt like, and filling notebooks with feelings, song lyrics and poems.

When Sara had left Alberta in December of the year of her 18th birthday, she had headed to Lima and spent Christmas with her aunt. But by mid January, Sara had felt she was crawling out of her own skin and had taken off in her little car for Newfoundland. She had spent just over a month wandering the island, making friends with the friendly people who lived there and promising to return when the weather was warmer and the views would be even more spectacular. From there it was back on the ferry to Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia. Sara had even spent 5 days on Prince Edward Island but the island was too small and there was no where to go when she needed to be anywhere but where she was. Sara went back to Nova Scotia and spent a couple of weeks in Halifax, mostly down by the harbour. From there she went to New Brunswick but it had bored Sara and one afternoon she found herself driving into Quebec. It was mid April by then and Sara stayed exploring Quebec until July when she returned to Newfoundland for 4 weeks like she had promised. Sara never ventured any farther west than Toronto, Ontario.

By the time her 20th birthday had rolled around, Sara was a student at UT, and she celebrated with Chad, Christie, Melody and Annie. They had distracted her nicely from the reminders with a quiet birthday dinner the night of her birthday with a tv marathon of episodes of their favorite reality tv. Then on the weekend they had kidnapped her and taken her to NYC for two broadway shows. It was about as far away from home and memories of home that Sara could imagine. There had been talks of doing something similar this year, but now all of that gone and Sara was faced with a day of teaching, a night alone, and then those parties with Noah on Saturday. Friday, her birthday, would be the worst day to get through but Sara figured she could muddle through.

Sara didn't realize how wrapped up she had been in her memories until Tina touched her on the shoulder. Apparently they had worked out some choreography and they were looking for her direction and approval. Sara had to admit they were quite good at figuring things out on their own, but she felt selfish that she was so wrapped up in her own head at the moment. As the two groups came together, Brittany and Tina leading the rest of the group through the movements, Sara smiled. This song had quite a bit more potential. Although, Sara's hands down favorite was the Nickelback song but that was personal bias at play of course.

By the time Glee rehearsal had wrapped up Sara was almost twitching. She was feeling a sudden need to get away, to run far away. Sara picked up her phone and found the song she was looking for and let it play. She walked off to her car while Great Big Sea's 'Run Run Away' played through her phone. Once she was safely in her car, Sara called Noah.

"Sara" Noah answered the phone once he saw her name on the caller id.

"Do you have plans tonight Noah?" she asked, her voice breathless and almost pleading.

"Nothing I can't push back if you want to do something" he replied.

"Great! Can you meet me at my place in 20 minutes?" Sara asked.

"Sure can, see you then" Noah said as he hung up the phone.

When Noah arrived he found Sara sitting on her aunt's step.

"Hey" she said as she climbed up into his truck and reached across to kiss his cheek.

"What's up?" Noah asked. "Where are we going?"

"Just drive" Sara said. "I just feel like I need to go, need to be anywhere but here."

Noah put the truck in reverse and backed out onto the street. He started driving and reached over and grabbed Sara's hand and held it in his own ontop of the gear shift. "Are you ok?" he asked.

Sara turned her head to the side and watched as the town flooded by outside the window. "The anniversary of my parents death is coming up. I guess I am freaking out a little" she admitted.

Noah let out a loud breath. "Geeze Sara, no wonder. I'd want to run away too. How long ago was it?" he asked with a gentle squeeze to her hand.

"Three years" Sara said. "It still feels like yesterday sometimes. And then other times I can't even hardly remember them" she softly sobbed.

Noah took his hand off hers and stretched his arm along the back of the seat. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her body into his, not taking his arm from around her. "You're going to have to shift for me" he said with a nod to the gearshift as they turned away from town on an old dirt road. They drove for a long time, down dirt roads, Sara snuggled in next to Noah, shifting for him as needed. Noah pulled off the road though and started down what could best be described as a path. After a couple of minutes, they were parked on top of an embankment over top of a lake.

"Wow this is beautiful" Sara said as she looked out the window at the view. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Lake Loramie" Noah replied as he opened the door to the truck and helped Sara down. He grabbed an old blanket off the floor behind the drivers seat and took it over by an old tree. Noah carefully spread it out before sitting down and then pulling Sara down to sit with him. "Want to tell me more about their accident?" Noah asked.

Sara nodded. "It was a drunk driver. I was away at school" Sara explained, carefully omitting the date of the accident and what she was actually doing. "They had called me that night, but I was too busy having fun with my friends to take their call" Sara started sobbing.

"Oh Sara" Noah said as he held her tight. "You can't possibly blame yourself" he said.

"I didn't get to tell them I loved them" Sara choked between sobs.

"I'm sure they knew that" Noah said soothingly.

"I'm not" Sara said. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

They sat together quietly for a while watching the sun begin to dip in the sky and color the sky with oranges, reds and pinks. Sara began to shiver as the temperature dropped as rapidly as the sun disappearing. "Do you want to go?" Noah asked as he pulled her tighter into his body in an attempt to keep her warm.

"Probably should" Sara admitted. "I have some work I need to get done tonight."

They stood and Sara helped Noah shake out the blanket, fold it and store it behind the driver's seat again. As they made their way back to town, Sara looked over at Noah. "I really like you Noah" she began, "but I should tell you there is someone at work." Sara stopped unsure how exactly to continue, but knowing she owed Noah the truth.

"Are you seeing someone else?" Noah asked a little flustered at the confession. It's not like they had said they were exclusive but Noah rarely had dated a girl who was dating multiple guys although Noah was the type to hook up with more than one girl at a time.

"No" Sara shook her head. "There is nothing going on between us. Yet" Sara clarified.

"Are you saying you want something to happen?" Noah asked.

"Maybe" Sara admitted. "At first, I didn't think I liked him at all. And then I figured even if I did there was no way he could like me. But it turns out that maybe he does. And I think I do too" Sara pushed it all out in one big jumble. "But I do like you too and I am having a lot of fun with you."

Noah chuckled a little. "If we are being completely honest" he said, "then my friends will probably fill your head with all kinds of not so nice things about me this weekend. I'm not big on long standing relationships although I have been known to make an exception or two. And I think I understand what you are saying about the guy at work. But I like you Sara, more than most of the girls I hook up with."

"Are we ok?" Sara asked.

"Yeah" Noah said with a smile as he turned to look at her and put his hand on her knee. "Just let me know if anything changes. I don't want to be that guy hanging on when there is no hope. This is already more than a stretch from my usual relationships."

Sara smiled back at Noah and put her hand on top of his.

"Will you point him out to me this weekend?" Noah asked.

"Uh, I 'm not sure that is a good idea" Sara admitted.

"I promise I won't make a scene" Noah replied. "I'll just tell you later about what a douche he is and how you are much better off with me" he said with a wide grin.

Sara laughed but promised nothing.


	26. Chapter 26

**********DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

**********A/N- The Old Apartment is by The Barenaked Ladies**

**Chapter 26- Filling In**

When Finn woke up Thursday morning, he was feeling much better than he had in the days past. The pounding in his head was gone and breathing was now easier and did not result in a coughing fit. Even though he had slept the majority of the last couple of days though, Finn still felt tired. He opted to sleep a little longer, knowing Coach Bieste did not have a practice scheduled for this morning since they had a game the night before.

When Sara got to school on Thursday, she was surprised to walk into Dan Thayers classroom and for him to not be there. Sara took the alone time to compose herself and prepare for her lesson. She was giving a lesson today in the first, third and fifth periods. Sara took her lesson from her bag and spread her teaching materials across the desk. About 5 minutes before the bell for first period, Sara was surprised by Principal Figgins and an older gentleman.

"Miss Walsh" Principle Figgins began, "Mr Thayer has called in sick today and he will likely be away tomorrow as well. Mr Thayer said, you are more than capable to handle his classes for today but we do need a certified teacher in here, so may I present Mr. James Smithson."

Sara stuck out her hand to shake Mr Smithson's. He looked to be a quiet man, old enough that he was probably retired or mostly retired. Sara suddenly became panicked as she realised that she would be teaching on her own for the whole day and possibly the next as well. Sara watched dumbfounded as Principle Figgins walked away.

"Ok, so welcome Mr. Smithson" Sara said. "I was supposed to present a lesson today in a couple of the classes, so I will just go with that. Do you want to sit up here at the desk, or at the back where I usually sit?" Sara asked.

"I'm fine at the back, Miss Walsh. Don't mind me, just go ahead as if this was an actual lesson observation" James Smithson said as he made his way to the back of the class and sat on the stool near the table against the far wall.

"Please, at least switch chairs with me" Sara insisted as she pulled the chair with a back and arms from behind the desk at the front and traded it for the stool.

"Thank you" James said.

Finn woke up again mid-morning, his stomach was already rumbling. He scrambled a couple of eggs and made some toast and stood at the counter to eat. It was great to finally have some semblance of an appetite back and to be standing instead of laying down. Finn caught a glimpse of his reflection in the chrome of his toaster and shook his head; 3 days worth of stubble covered his face, his eyes were dark, his lips chapped and his hair was sticking out all over the place. Finn knew his fever had broken sometime between dinner last night and this morning, because his pyjamas and sheets had been damp with sweat but he had been too tired to change. He definitely needed a shower before he did anything else this morning.

After a shower, shave and some clean clothes, Finn threw his bedding in the wash and flopped onto the couch with a glass of water and another dose of cold medicine. The effort of showering, dressing and putting a load of laundry in had almost exhausted him. Finn second guessed his thought of leaving the house today. Maybe he needed another day of rest. But truth be told, he was feeling restless and a little lonely. He had texted a bit with Puck and Blaine over the past couple of days and his mom had stopped by and then there was the phone call from Kurt and Rachel. Kurt had called to see how he was feeling because Blaine had told him he was ill. Rachel had heard Kurt talking to Finn and had wanted to talk to him too. She told Finn she would come to the party this weekend but only if she could bring Brody.

Finn still wasn't sure why he said yes- it wasn't going to be easy having Rachel and Brody there and possibly all over each other. Finn hadn't told many people about his split from Rachel and so that would be confusing for some of their friends. But then again if Rachel wasn't there they would have questions too. Especially if things went the way Finn was hoping with Sara, and for his friends still in Glee, Finn didn't want them to harbour ill will towards Sara as a catalyst in the destruction of Finn and Rachel's relationship.

When Finn arrived at McKinley, the lunch bell had just rung. He walked the halls, stopping to chat with people he knew as he made his way towards Dan Thayer's classroom. He hoped he wasn't too late already and wouldn't be able to find Sara and convince her to have lunch with him because if he was honest with himself, he had missed her the last couple of days. Finn knocked on the open door before poking his head around the corner.

"Hello" he said as he stepped into the classroom and was greeted with a peculiar scene.

"Oh hello Finn, welcome back" Sara said with a look to Mr. Smithson as she shuffled some papers into a folder. "Mr. Smithson, this is Finn Hudson. He is the co-director of the Glee club here at McKinley with Mr. Shuester and I have been helping them out as well during my time here" Sara explained.

"Hello Mr Hudson" James Smithson said as he stuck out his hand to the younger man.

"Mr Smithson" Finn acknowledged as he shook the older gentleman's hand. Finn remembered Mr Smithson had subbed for a couple of different teachers last year. "Sara, I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to have lunch and catch me up on what I missed" Finn said, stopping himself before verbally admitting he had missed their time together.

"Sorry Finn, lunch is eat on the run today" Sara explained. "Mr. Thayer is out ill today and possibly tomorrow so I am covering the class with Mr Smithson here just on a technicality. I have some photocopying to get done before this afternoon classess."

"Oh" Finn said, trying not to let his disappointment show. "Will you still be at Glee rehearsal this afternoon?" he asked.

Sara nodded. "We can talk then ok."

"Sure, see you later" Finn said as he walked out of the class. He poked his head back around the door a second later and added, "good luck this afternoon."

"Thanks Finn. Bye" Sara called after him.

Finn walked the almost empty hallways and decided to look for Mr Schue. He stopped by the staff lunch room and knocked on the door. Almost all of the teachers looked up at Finn in the doorway before Will Schuester stood and beckoned the young man over. "Come in Finn, come sit with us" he said.

"Hi Ms P, Coach, Mr Shue" Finn began as he sat down with them.

"Emma, Shannon, Will" Will corrected him with a warm smile. "Feeling better Finn?" he asked.

"Yeah" Finn said with a nod. "But my energy is a little lacking after two days in bed."

Emma absently scrubbed at the space on the table between her and Finn with a napkin.

Will looked at Finn unsure how to broach the next subject. He glanced over at his finance who was still scrubbing at the table and put a hand over hers. She looked up and smiled at him. Will took a breath and decided to just ask. "Finn, did you break up with Rachel?"

Finn looked at Will and blinked a couple of times not sure he was hearing what was coming out of his mouth. "Uh, um, yeah I guess I did" he said.

"Oh" Emma said, her eyes wide.

"How did you find out about that?" Finn asked.

"We heard it from Sara" Will said. "She and Sue had a huge blow up and afterwards it just kind of came out" he continued.

"It's not like it is a big secret or anything" Finn said. "In fact I was thinking I need to let everyone know before my party this weekend, seeing as Rachel is coming with her new boyfriend Brody" he explained.

Shannon Beiste put a comforting hand on Finn's shoulder and squeezed lightly, "Hang in their kiddo."

Finn turned to look at Coach Beiste and laughed. "It's ok. Rachel called and asked me if I would be ok with it and I said sure. Besides, there is someone that I kind of like too" he admitted.

"Sara?" Will asked his eyes wide as saucers.

Finn blushed a deep crimson and tucked his head down, biting on his lip before nodding yes. "H-how d-did you know?" he stumbled.

Will shook his head. "There have been a couple of things really, like that When Doves Cry number" he looked pointedly at the teen sitting across from him.

"Oh yeah" Finn chuckled nervously.

Emma reached out to touch Finn's hand but thought better of it and retracted her hand. "You know she is seeing someone else right?" she asked.

Finn nodded, "I do. But I am hoping I might be able to make her take a chance on me."

The three adults looked at each other each trying to decide if they should say anything else to Finn. Shannon opened her mouth to say something but Will shook his head violently at her and Emma put a finger to her lips. It probably wasn't their place to get involved.

Finn looked up at the clock and sighed. "I better get over to the garage for a bit. I promised Burt sometime today since I've been out the last two days. I only really stopped by today at lunch to hopefully have lunch with Sara but she is busy since Mr Thayer is out sick and she has been left in charge" he explained.

Finn stood up and walked over to the door, nearly colliding with Sue Sylvester.

"And just what do you think you are doing in here Frankenteen?" Sue sneered.

"I was just talking to Mr Schue, Ms P and Coach Bieste about some things" Finn replied, pulling himself up to his full height in front of Coach Sylvester.

Sue scanned the room looking for the short girl. "Where is the bride of Frankenteen today?" she snapped.

Finn gave Sue a questioning look. "Who?"

"You know, the little one you're always around" Sue answered.

"Rachel is in New York now" Finn said puzzled as to why Sue would think she was still here.

"Not the Wendy, Peter Pan" Sue spat. "Where is Tinkerbell?"

"She means Sara" Shannon said as she walked up behind Finn. "She is not here Sue, just leave her alone."

"Oh are you going to stick up for Belle now too Beast" Sue snarled.

Shannon put her hand on Finn's back "Why don't you go on" she suggested as she turned to take on the evils of Sue Sylvester.

Finn returned to McKinley later that afternoon in time for Glee rehearsal. He was tired but excited to finally get to spend some time with Sara again. When he walked into the room, Sara was already sitting down in a chair with her bag on the chair beside her. She looked up and saw Finn and smiled, moving her bag to the floor and patting the chair beside her. "I'm sorry, I blew you off at lunch time" Sara said as Finn settled on the chair.

"It's ok, I understand" Finn said. "How did the afternoon go?" he asked politely.

"Great" Sara said enthusiastically.

Finn looked at her smile, her flushed cheeks and her eyes twinkling. "You really do like teaching don't you?" he asked.

Sara nodded. "I haven't been this happy in long time" she said.

Finn frowned for a moment. "That is both sad and yet great at the same time" he admitted.

Will Schuester walked into the choir room then and welcomed everyone. He shot a pointed look at Finn and Sara sitting together and they each thought the look was directed at them. "Ok, today's song choice is 'The Old Apartment' by the Barenaked Ladies." Will went around handing out music to everyone and talking a bit about the song and the group in general.

Finn leaned over to whisper to Sara, "Is this your favorite song by them?" he asked, knowing Sara had picked the song.

Sara shook her head. "Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Brian Wilson and Chimps all come in ahead of this song for me" she whispered.

Finn's breathing hitched for a second as the word 'lovers' tumbled from Sara's lips in a breathy whisper. He blinked his eyes twice and swallowed hard.

"I'll bring you a cd tomorrow" she whispered again, oblivious to his response.

Will began talking about the song and the group started tossing out ideas as to who should be singing what parts. In the end they decided to showcase the seniors voices and keep the choreography simple, backs to the audience, slight swaying, turning to face the audience only when singing.

_Blaine- Broke into the old apartment_  
_This is where we used to live_  
_Broken glass, broke and hungry_  
_Broken hearts and broken bones_  
_All-This is where we used to live_

_Joe-Why did you paint the walls?_  
_Why did you clean the floor?_  
_Why did you plaster over the hole I punched in the door?_  
_All-This is where we used to live_

_Brittany-Why did you keep the mousetrap?_  
_Why did you keep the dish rack?_  
_These things used to be mine_  
_I guess they still are, I want them back_

_Artie-Broke into the old apartment_  
_Forty-two steps from the street_  
_Crooked landing, crooked landlord_  
_Narrow laneway filled with crooks_  
_All- This is where we used to live_

_Tina-Why did they pave the lawn?_  
_Why did they change the locks?_  
_Why did I have to break in, I only came here to talk_  
_All-This is where we used to live_

_Blaine- How is the neighbour downstairs?_  
_How is her temper this year?_  
_I turned up your TV and stomped on the floor just for fun_  
_I know we don't live here anymore_  
_We bought an old house on the Danforth_  
_She loves me and her body keeps me warm_  
_I'm happy there_  
_All-But this is where we used to live_

_Sam-Broke into the old apartment_  
_Tore the phone out of the wall_  
_Only memories, fading memories_  
_Blending into dull tableaux_

_Blaine-I want them back_

The song worked but it was anticlimactic for Sara after she had finished listening to the New Directions cd Finn had made for her. Sara had to remind herself that this was for the most part a completely different group, only about half of them having been members of the group on the cd. Sara smiled though as the group finished. It seemed to her though that they were not really feeling it either and Sara wondered how much help she was really being.

"I'd like to see the song you guys did yesterday" Finn announced when the group was done. "I heard Tuesdays was not so great but no one said anything about yesterdays."

The group at the front of the room cheered a bit before getting into a different formation and began the song for Finn. They were looser with it and having a lot more fun-it was not a performance piece but it was pretty high energy and it perked Sara's seemingly crashing spirits. Will Schuester watched as Finn drummed his hands on his lap and bopped his head to the tune of the song the glee group was performing. Then he looked at Sara Walsh sitting beside him. She was smiling but there seemed to be a sadness in her eyes and she looked tired. The three applauded for the group when they finished and Will stood up and motioned everyone back into seats.

"So tomorrow is Friday" Will Schuester stated. "We don't have a song planned but I invite you all to consider if there is something you just want to sing, bring in the music. We'll have some fun with the day." The crowd erupted into spontaneous cheers and applause. The room soon filled with noise as people began playing songs off their ipods and phones and singing along, trying to find a song for tomorrow.

Sara laughed at the excitement and enthusiasm in the room. It was one of the reasons Sara enjoyed teaching; watching young people become involved, active and passionate about something. It was in stark contrast to the apathy that seemed to abound these days. Sara had to stifle a yawn though as she was feeling exhausted after the effort and excitement of actually teaching all day.

"Are you ok?" Finn asked as he nudged Sara with his shoulder.

"Yeah" Sara smiled as she tried to stifle another yawn. "I think teaching all day, the stress and excitement of it all, has tuckered me out."

"You taught all day today?" Will asked overhearing their conversation.

Sara looked up to Will and nodded. "Dan was out sick today and maybe out tomorrow too. Mr Figgins brought in a substitute so there was an actual teacher in the room but I taught the class and he just kind of sat there observing." Sara flashed a wide smile. "It was kind of awesome and totally draining at the same time."

Will nodded his head sympathetically. "My first year teaching, I was tired all the time" he admitted. "But it gets better." Will walked over to a group of students who were gathered around listening to a bunch of 80s rock songs.

Finn looked over at Sara and opened his mouth to say something when she looked up at him. But then he closed his mouth and shook his head slightly.

"What" she asked, eying him suspiciously.

"Nothing" Finn said. "It's not important."

Sara shrugged her shoulders, "ok."

"It's just, oh never mind" Finn said.

"What?" Sara said as she turned in her seat a little exasperated now. "What are you afraid of? I don't bite. I won't laugh at you- much" she teased.

Finn rolled his eyes at her small joke.

"C'mon, I thought we were becoming friends here. What is it?" Sara asked.

Finn cocked his head to the side and looked at Sara straight in the eyes. His intense stare startled Sara and made her tingle inside. "Are we really becoming friends?" he asked. "Is that what you want- to be my friend?" he queried.

Sara put a hand on his shoulder and watched as he tore his eyes from hers and looked over to where she was touching him before he looked back at her. Sara noticed his tongue licked his bottom lip and he swallowed. "I think we are friends Finn. I know I want to be your friend" she replied as she lightly squeezed his shoulder.

Finn nodded. "I think so too" he replied. He looked down at his feet then. "Earlier, I wanted to say that I kind of missed this" he motioned between them with his hands. "Me and you, us. I mean talking like this, when I was sick" he said.

"I missed it too, I think" Sara replied as she took her hand off his shoulder. "I was surprised that first day when you weren't hanging out outside my classroom at lunchtime. I was a little sad to think you had something better to do" she said with a chuckle.

Finn shook his head and looked at her again. "Nothing better" he said simply with a half smile. "So, do you think you could save this friend a dance as his party on Saturday night?" he asked.

Sara pretended to ponder his request, "I think I can do that."

Mr. Schuester dismissed the group at the point and they all began to file out of the room. Sara stood up and stetched, yawning . "I think I need to go home and go to bed" she said.

"See you tomorrow" Finn said. "Yay, it's Friday."

Sara's eyes darkened momentarily before she said said "Yes, tomorrow is Friday." She waved to everyone as she walked out of the classroom.

Finn walked down the hallway towards the parking lot. As he passed Ms Pilsbury's office she stuck her head out of her door and called to him.

"Finn" Ms Pilsbury's voice rang out in the halls, "I have some info for you to consider."

Finn turned around and walked into Ms Pilsbury's office with a confused look on his face.

Emma pushed a folder with the OSU logo on it towards Finn. "I think you will find some interesting information inside."

Finn picked up the folder and flipped it open. Inside was a little yellow post it note with a small message. Finn smiled and looked up at Ms. Pilsbury. "Really?" he asked.

"That is what I hear" Emma nodded in response. "But you didn't hear it from me" she whispered.

"You're the best Ms P" Finn said as he walked out of her office, down the hall and out of the school. He was almost out the door when his phone signaled a new text message.

**SARAW: Finn, are you still around? I think my battery is dead.**

**FINN H: just walking out now**

Finn walked over to Sara's car and opened the door. "C'mon" he said as he motioned for her to get out. "I'll give you a lift home and then Burt and I can come back, boost your car, take it to the shop and make sure it is ok."

"No Finn, I've got cables. Just give me a boost" Sara replied.

"If I boost you, you'll need to drive around for a while otherwise the battery will die again and you won't be able to get to school in the morning" Finn said.

"If you take me home, how am I getting to school in the morning anyhow?" Sara asked.

Finn grinned, "Why me of course."

Sara nodded and chuckled, "of course."

Sara grabbed her bag out of her car and walked with Finn over to his truck. He opened the door and helped her in before walking around and getting in on the driver's side. He held out his hands for her car keys.

Sara took her car key off the key ring and handed it to him. "Thanks Finn. Really."

"Not a problem" Finn said as he started his truck. "You'll have to give me directions though."

Sara directed Finn to her aunt's house and he pulled into the driveway. "What time do I need to come get you in the morning?" he asked.

"8:15?" Sara asked.

Finn smiled. "Yeah I can do that. Should I pick up some coffee?" Finn asked.

Sara shook her head. "Allergic" she explained, "but if you pick me up at 8:15 we have time to get coffee and/or hot chocolate, my treat" she explained.

"Sounds good to me" Finn said.

Sara leaned over and lightly pressed her lips to Finn's cheek. "Thanks Finn" she said as she climbed out of his truck and walked into the house.


	27. Author's note

_Happy Easter everyone! Been a busy few weeks for me but I wanted to let you know I am working on new chapters as we speak. Hopefully this week there will be a new one or two posted. I don't know exactly how many chapters this will end up being but I am hoping to have it finished before I take off again at the start of May (hoping for lots and lots of sun and good times in Sacramento, CA). _

_I hope those of you reading will stick around...I know it sucks when it is this long between updates. Sorry. _


	28. Chapter 27 pt1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara & Billy (and a couple of other minor characters in this chapter, Kim and War). Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

**A/N- Ok, this chapter mophed into a mega chapter and was closer to 8000 words so I decided to split it. Here is part 1. Part 2 should be finished in a day or two.**

**Chapter 27-Happy Birthday pt1**

_October 2009_

_Sara opened her eyes and found herself staring directly into the green eyes of her lover._

"_Happy Birthday beautiful" Billy whispered, his lips briefly ghosting over hers as he pulled her closer. _

_Sara sighed contentedly as she wrapped her arms around the boy in her bed. "Thank you" she whispered in his ear. Even though their parents knew they were sleeping together, they had not wanted Sara and Billy to get an apartment and live together off campus. Instead both sets of parents had insisted that they move into the dorms. With a little help, and some luck, Sara and Billy had managed to be assigned to one of the co-ed wings in the dorms and ended up in rooms across the hall from each other. While their parents had not been thrilled with how it had worked out, they weren't keen on complaining about it. It hadn't taken much to switch some things around, and now most nights Billy and Sara slept in Sara's room on three dorm beds pushed together. Across the hall, Billy's room was used as a place to hang out with friends, sometimes for studying and to house Billy's clothing, their fridge, microwave and food. One single bed remained in the room, that was used mostly as a couch substitute and a place where everyone crammed together onto when playing video games or watching movies. _

"_Can we just stay here like this all day? It is my birthday afterall" Sara said to Billy._

"_Nope" Billy shook his head. "We have to go to classes and later tonight, I am taking you out to celebrate your birthday in typical 18 year old fashion but then, then we can come right back here" he said with a kiss. Billy stood up from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. He held his hands out to Sara to pull her up from the bed, "Come shower with me" he said. _

_Billy pulled Sara off the bed and she took off her tank top and shorts, discarding them into the laundry basket. She grabbed her robe and two towels before slipping her feet into her thongs. They walked across the hall to Billy's room where he shucked his jeans, socks and sneakers in favor of his robe and flip flops. They made their way, hand in hand up the hall to the bathroom and slipped inside. It was already pretty steamy inside. Billy peeked his head around the corner and discovered all but one of the shower stalls were in use. "We're in luck" he said as he pulled Sara to the empty stall. "Good morning everyone" Billy said as he walked past a couple of stalls. "Say Happy Birthday to Sara!"_

"_Happy Birthday Sara" chorused a mixture of voices from the stalls before someone started singing. Soon almost 8 voices were singing along in a very off key but sweet rendition of the birthday song on Sara's behalf. _

"_Thanks everyone" Sara shouted as she followed Billy into a stall and shucked her robe while he turned on the water. _

"_So where are we going?" Sara asked Billy as a group of their floor mates crowded into the taxi van with them. _

"_The Morgue" a voice bellowed from the back of the van. _

_Billy looked to the car driver as he shut the van door behind him, "You heard the good man in the back, the Morgue it is" he said with a grin. _

_The cabbie turned to make sure everyone was buckled in before pulling out of the parking lot. _

_Sara looked at Billy and then back at the voice in the back. "There is really a bar called 'The Morgue' War?" she asked the spikey blonde at the rear of the van. _

"_Yup, it's in a building downtown that apparently used to a hospital way back when- I really think you are going to love it Sara" Warren explained. War was a senior on their floor and happened to live in the co-ed wing with the two freshmen. It was highly unusual for freshmen to end up in the co-ed wings and War had kind of taken both of them under his wing since they appeared to be a package deal. _

_The cab pulled up outside an old brick building downtown with dance music pulsing loudly even outside. As the crowd began to disperse from the cab, Billy leaned forward and paid the fare. The group pulled out their ids to show the bouncer and pay the cover charge. When Sara handed her id over, the bouncer looked her up and down for a moment before wishing her a happy birthday and waiving off her cover charge. _

_Once inside, Kim, another floor mate, unzipped her hoodie to reveal a white tee shirt which she immediately pulled off over her head revealing a second black tee under it. "Here" Kim said as she thrust the tee shirt to Billy. _

_Billy grinned mischievously as he pulled a black sharpie from his back pocket. "Here Sara, you need to put this on" he said as he held up the tee shirt for her inspection. The shirt read 'My name is Sara. It's my 18__th__ birthday. Buy me a shot and sign my shirt.'_

_Sara shook her head. "I'm not wearing that Billy" she said._

"_Oh princess, you are sooooo wearing that" War said as he grabbed Sara's arms and held them over her head, while Kim helped Billy wrestle the shirt onto Sara. _

"_I'll buy the first round of shots and sign your shirt" Billy said as he waved over a waitress and whispered to her before uncapping the marker and writing his name over Sara's left breast. While Billy used the moment to grope his girlfriend a little, War also placed an order with the waitress before she disappeared. _

_The techno dance music switched then and suddenly the space was filled with the 80s classic Rasputin. "Oh I want to dance" Sara squealed. _

"_Hang on short stuff" War said. "Our first round of drinks should be here right away. And Monday nights are always 80s night here at the Morgue- you'll have plenty of music to dance to tonight."_

_At that moment two waitresses appeared with two racks of test tubes holding shots. They placed them down on the tables and Billy and War each pulled out cash to pay for the shots. "Mine first" Billy said as he passed around the test tubes with an orangey looking mixture. Everyone held their shots up and clinked glasses before downing the shot. _

"_Holy hell!" Sara exclaimed as she swallowed and fanned her face with her hands. "What was that Billy?"_

"_Prairie Fire" Billy said with an amused grin. _

"_Ok" War said, "mine is a little more fun" he explained as he passed out the blue test tubes that were rimmed with pink something or another. _

"_What's that?" Sara asked._

"_Blue Kamikaze" War explained._

"_And around the rim?" Sara inquired._

"_Pop rocks!" War exclaimed with a grin._

_Everyone clinked their glasses together again before downing the shot. _

"_Oh I liked that one" Sara said with a smile as she felt the pop rocks crackling in her mouth. "Dance now?"_

"_Hang on, War has to sign your shirt" Kim said, grabbing the marker off the table. _

_War tilted his head to the side and then motioned for Sara to turn around. "Lean over Sara" he said. _

"_What?" Sara exclaimed._

"_You are too short, I'm not going to get down on my knees in here woman. Now bend over so I can write on the bottom of the shirt in the back here" War exclaimed as he put a hand on Sara's lower back and pushed her gently into a hunched over position. War then wrote his name just above the waist band of her jeans and handed her the marker. "Put it in your pocket for safe keeping" he said._

_By the end of the night, Sara's shirt was filled with names and she had had and had shared quite a few shots with her friends. None of them were nearly as intoxicated as she was however, especially since it was a Monday night after all and they were planning on attending Tuesday morning classes and labs. They had no doubts that Sara would not be attending hers. _

_Billy walked with his arm around Sara, almost dragging her back to their floor and towards their room. Their group was trying to be somewhat quiet as they wandered the halls of the dorms and made their way home but they were all still in good spirits. Billy knew from a few underage drinking episodes that Sara was a lightweight when it came to alcohol but she was also a cute, cuddly, fun drunk and he didn't mind a bit. The sight of two uniformed police officers in their lounge stopped them in their tracks though. _

"_Are any of you ladies Sara Walsh?" one of the officers asked. _

"_That's me! It's my birthday" Sara exclaimed as she looked at the police officers for a moment. Sara turned to look at the rest of the group behind her. "Did you get me a stripper for my birthday?" she whispered loudly before giggling. _

"_Miss" the officer began, "can we talk to you in private please?"_

_Sara's eyebrows shot up her forehead in surprise. _

"_Her room is this way" Billy said with a firm hand on Sara's back as he propelled them towards the room and motioned for the officers to join them. _

_Billy put the key in the lock and opened the door, guiding Sara in to sit on the bed before he sat beside her. _

"_This is a personal matter sir" the officer said as he gestured to the door indicating he would prefer Billy left. _

"_I'm her boyfriend" Billy said, "given her current state, I'd rather stay" he replied. _

_The two officers exchanged glances before the one continued. _

"_Are you Sara Walsh?" the one officer stepped forward and asked. _

_Sara nodded. _

"_Are your parents Margaret and Patrick Walsh?" he continued. _

_Sara nodded again, the room suddenly began to spin wildly out of control. _

"_I am afraid to inform you miss, that your parents were killed in a motor vehicle accident tonight. It was a drunk driver" he offered in explanation. _

_In her inebriated state, Sara had no warning as her stomach churned and she vomited onto the floor just in front of the officer. She was instantly aware of a high pitched scream being ripped from her lungs, of Billy's strong arms around her, warm tears streaming down her face and her world spinning wildly out of control. _

October 2012

Sara woke up with a start and drenched in sweat. She was gasping loudly for breath and she felt desperately alone. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them to herself as she rocked back and forth on her bed, tears streaming down her face. This was the worst part of her birthday- remembering what had happened.

Sara looked over at her alarm clock and sighed. 6 am. Too early to really be up but too late to try to go back to sleep. Sara fell back against her pillows. Maybe she should get up and go for a run. Sara pulled the covers off her body and exchanged her pyjamas for some running clothes. Sara ran for almost 40 minutes before returning to her aunts house and climbing into a warm shower.

By the time Finn arrived at 8:10 she was ready to go.

"Good morning" Finn said Sara opened the door. He moved aside as she stepped out onto the porch and stopped to lock the door behind her. Finn took a moment to take in her appearance. She was wearing dark demin jeans that sat a little low on her hips and Finn thought if she were to bend over in them he just might have been able to see the top of her ass except for the fact that the red blouse she was wearing is tucked into the low rise of her jeans. The blouse fitted her perfectly, the color was amazing against her skin and the sleeves were a sheer red material from shoulder to cuff. The collar of the shirt stood up against her neck and Finn noticed that she had the three top buttons undone although he wished it was four. "You look great" Finn said with a smile as they walked to his truck. "Special occasion?" he asked, knowing full well thanks to Ms Pillsbury that today is Sara's birthday.

"Thanks" Sara said with a smile of her own as she climbed into the cab of the truck. "No special occasion, but it is Friday and the weekend is almost here" she countered.

"Hot plans for the weekend?" Finn teased thinking about his own party.

"A party or two" Sara winked at Finn before continuing, "and a date."

Finn's brows furrowed for a moment as he remembered Sara was dating someone else but he quickly dismissed it because it might be a moot point by the time the weekend was through.

"Shall we go?" Finn asked as he started the truck and Sara nodded at him.

While they were driving to the Lima Bean, Finn looked down at her feet then and noticed she was wearing red heels too, although not the super high, skinny ones a lot of the girls usually wear. He looked back up and noticed a tiny pair of silver hoops in her ears. They almost remind him of Puck's nipple ring they are that tiny. Sara's hair was pulled back severally from her face and gathered in a twist at the back of her head.

"Your hair looks better down or at least not pulled back so much" he said to Sara as they pulled into the coffee shop's parking lot.

Sara laughed a little at his words. "I went for a run this morning" Sara explained, "my hair is still damp and I didn't have enough time to do anything else with it." Sara reached over and took one of Finn's hands off the steering wheel and turned her head slightly away from him, guiding his hand to touch her still mostly wet hair. "By the time I take this down at the end of the day, my hair will be curly and wavy" she replied.

Finn parked his truck and Sara looked over at him. "How do you take your coffee?" she asked.

"Um, eh I, ah, just get me a hot chocolate too" Finn said with a smile.

"Ok" Sara said with a smile as she hopped out of the truck and walked into the coffee shop.

Sara stepped out of the coffee shop with a tray holding two drinks and a small brown paper bag.

"I didn't know if you liked whipped cream on your hot chocolate, but I went for it anyway figuring you could always scoop it off" Sara said as she handed the drink tray and brown bag to Finn before climbing up into the truck.

Finn chuckled. "Whipped cream is fine" he said.

Sara reached for one of the cups and ran her index finger across the top, scooping up most of the whipped cream. "I love whipped cream" she said before she put her finger into her mouth.

Finn watched in almost seemingly slow motion as Sara put her finger full of whipped cream into her mouth. He could have sworn her tongue slipped past her lips momentarily to curl around her finger and pull it into her mouth. He watched as her cheeks hollowed and she sucked the fluffy white cream from her finger, before pulling it out with an almost audible 'pop'. Finn laughed nervously.

"What?" Sara asked at his laughter.

Not about to divulge how that simple act had turned him on, Finn simply replied "Kurt does the same thing to his hot chocolate."

"And what about you?" Sara asked. "How do you treat the whipped cream on your hot chocolate?"

"Like a normal person" Finn replied. "It is part of the drink and I just drink it." Finn grabbed the other cup and sipped some.

Sara laughed as Finn pulled the cup away and she discovered the tip of his nose was covered in a thin layer of whipped cream. "You've got a little bit of whipped cream right there" Sara said as she reached over and ran her thumb over the tip of his nose and catching most of the whipped cream there. She lowered her thumb, devilishly close to his mouth, and looked at directly at Finn, catching his eyes before she began to pull her hand back.

Finn reached out and grabbed her wrist, meeting her eyes again. He brought her hand and her thumb to his mouth, his tongue sneaked past his lips and lavished her thumb. Finn looked up at Sara from under his eyelashes to see her eyes flick closed when his tongue connected with the pad of her thumb. He also noticed her lips move as a silent sigh escaped her mouth.

"S-sch-hool now" Sara stammered when Finn let go of her wrist.

Finn smiled as he picked up the two to go coffee lids and offered one to Sara before snapping one on his cup and returning it to the cup holder. "Yes ma'am" he mock saluted as he pulled out of the parking lot of the coffee shop and headed towards the school.

When they arrived at the school parking lot, Finn motioned to the brown paper bag. "What's in there?" he asked.

"I bought a couple of pastries for us to split" Sara said. "But I'm suddenly no longer hungry" she explained as handed him the brown paper bag.

"Are you sure?" Finn asked as he took the bag and peered inside to find 2 chocolate croissants inside. Sara nodded her head as she picked up her messenger bag and slid the strap over her head. "Awesome, thanks Sara" Finn replied. "So, do you need your car today?" he asked before she got out of the truck. "Or can I bring it back at the end of the day before Glee? I kinda owe Burt a bunch of hours from earlier this week. We got your car to the shop last night. We didn't really look at it but it is priority number 1 this morning. I can bring it back at the end of the day if that is ok."

"Yeah that is fine" Sara said as she opened the door. "So you won't be around at lunch?" she asked a little sadly.

"No- unless, I mean, do you want me to come and have lunch with you. I have to eat lunch anyway, I am sure Burt would be ok if I came by here and had lunch" Finn rambled.

"No, it's ok. I just guess I've been missing having lunch with you. But hey, next week or something right?" Sara said.

"Yeah, next week for sure" Finn said. "And I'll see you later today at Glee. And then tomorrow night, and yeah."

Sara smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks again Finn" she said as she hopped down out of the truck and began to walk towards the school.

Finn was about to leave when he rolled down his window and stuck his head out. "Hey Sara" he yelled.

Sara spun around at the sound of her name and jogged back to the truck where Finn was.

"What?" she asked.

"I feel bad about your breakfast and the pastries" he explained. "So here have a bite and humour me." Finn stuck out his hand holding one of the chocolate croissants with a twinkle in his eyes and that mischievous half-grin of his.

"Fine" Sara said as she reached out and bit a piece off of the croissant. "Happy now?" she asked as she turned to walk away again.

Finn quickly took out his phone and sent a text off to Blaine.

FINN: gather the troops 4 practice lunch I cant be there then but it is miss walshs bday 2day will sing to her in glee

BLAINE: alright, will do what I can.

"So tell me again, who owns this little vw bug?" Burt asked Finn about a half hour later.

"It belongs to Sara Walsh. She is a new student teacher at McKinley and she is helping out with the New Directions too. We've become friends" Finn explained.

Burt raised his eyebrows at his step-son. "Just friends?" he inquired.

"So far" Finn replied. "She is dating someone else at the moment."

Burt chuckled as he popped the hood on the car and checked all the connections.

"Yeah, I might be trying to change that" Finn admitted with a laugh. Finn had admitted to his mother that he had broken things off with Rachel, at least for now, and he assumed his mother had shared that info with Burt. Or maybe Kurt had. Kurt had heard both Rachel and Finn's side of the story- thankfully Finn's first, and he was being objective in supporting his two friends.

"Well good luck with that" Burt said. "It all looks good here. Just probably ran down the battery by leaving the lights on. We'll charge it and it should be good to go."

"Great, thanks Burt" Finn said with a smile.

"Did you invite her to your shin dig this weekend?" Burt asked.

"Yup- and she said she would stop by" Finn nodded. "Um, do you maybe, like, have any advice for me?" he asked quietly.

Burt stopped dead in his tracks. Kurt rarely came to his father for advice, and definitely on relationships and maybe that was understandable. The last thing Burt had expected though was for his almost 19 year old, step-son to come to him for dating advice. Sure maybe Finn was like the son he never had with Kurt but their relationship was not a typical father-son or even father-step-son one and Burt knew that Finn harboured some resentment still over everything, even if the Hudson-Hummel family was in a much better place now than they had been in Finn and Kurt's sophomore or even the beginning of junior year.

Burt removed his cap and ran his hand over his bald head. "Well Finn, you need to be kind, gentlemanly, respectful, all things I know your mother has taught you well." Finn smiled that half smile of his that Burt had grown so accustomed to over the past couple of years. "Show her you think she is special, tell her you think she is special and be yourself" Burt continued. "Your mom and I bonded over being single parents raising these teen boys and yes we started dating almost right away, but we also became friends because of you boys. Does that make sense?" he asked.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, that's like Rachel and I. We were friends first right, because of Glee and being the natural leaders in there. And so she is like one of my best friends. Definitely my best girl friend, and then Mr Shue is like my best adult friend, and Puck is just my best friend ever and Kurt is my best brother friend, even if he's my only brother and not really my brother…" Finn trailed off as Burt gestured that he did in fact understand what Finn was saying about his various friendships. Finn shook his head to gather thoughts since they had gone off on a tangent like they usually did. "But Quinn and I, while she is great, we were never really friends. We only really started dating because people expected us to- you know the head cheerleader and the quarterback. And that really did not work so well for either of us, either time" he continued.

Burt nodded and went back to work. He pretended not to notice or smile an hour later when he overheard Finn on the office phone with the local florist.

"Yes, I'd like to order some roses for a birthday today" Finn said. "She is 21, so can I get 21 roses?" he asked. "No, she is not my girlfriend. Just a friend" he answered, blushing slightly. "Well I don't know her favorite color, maybe it is red?" Finn replied. "No, you are right, red roses are probably too much. No NOT pink not for her. Yellow?" he said cautiously. "No, friendship is good. Yellow with red tips? Wow, yeah those sound good" Finn exclaimed. "So 21 of those, what was it you called them, lipstick roses?" he explained. "The card?" Finn stammered. "Ummm, how about just happy birthday. No, from name. Really? 13 roses means a secret admirer. Well…" Finn trailed off and looked out at Burt.

Feeling his step-son's gaze on him, Burt turned and nodded, giving him a thumbs up sign.

Finn turned back to the phone, "Yes let's make it 13 then. And can you deliver them? To McKinely Highschool before the end of the day. The name of the girl is Sara Walsh. She is a student teacher there" Finn explained. "Yes, let me get out my credit card" Finn started.

Burt stepped up into the office and took the phone from Finn. "Hello, yes, this is Burt Hummel from Hummel Tires and Lube. That was my step-son ordering flowers, you can just charge them on my account" Burt explained as he clapped Finn on the shoulder. "That's right H-U-M-M-E-L" he continued. "Thank you and have a good day" Burt finished as he hung up the phone.

Finn looked over at his step father in surprise. "Wow, thanks Burt" Finn said as he hugged the man.

Burt chuckled as the younger man threw himself into the hug. "You didn't say it was her birthday. Every woman deserves flowers on her birthday. And if she is seeing someone else, you don't want to show him up, if he didn't get her flowers so going anonymously was a good idea. You can always confess later" Burt explained. "Now how about this 2006 chev that needs snow tires?" he asked.


	29. Chapter 29

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything really in this fic but the character of Sara. Glee and it's characters are borrowed from all the talented people that bring the show to life.**

**Chapter 27 Happy Birthday pt 2**

Sara was not surprised to find Dan Thayer was still out on Friday. She was also not surprised to see Mr Smithson in the classroom again. "Good morning Mr. Smithson" Sara said as she walked over to the desk and put down her things.

"Good morning Miss Walsh, it is good to see you again" the older gentlemen said.

"You too. Are you ok with me leading the lessons again today?" Sara asked. "I know Mr. Thayer has a detailed substitute plan here that you could go on, or I can just continue on from where we left off yesterday."

"I don't mind if you continue on as you were yesterday" Mr. Smithson said.

"Great" Sara agreed as she busied herself in her preparations for the day.

The morning went well and soon Sara found herself heading to the staff lunch room hoping to have lunch with Will, Emma and Shannon like usual. She was not expecting them to have a red and white gift bag sitting on the table, dressed with red and white tissue paper and bunches of curling ribbon tying the handles together. Sara blushed at their thoughtfulness.

"Happy Birthday Sara" Will said as they watched the young woman approach their table.

"Thanks you guys" Sara said beaming.

"This is a little something from us. You might not want to haul it out just yet though. Actually you might want to take it to your car right now" Emma said.

Sara's curiosity got the better of her and she peered into the layers of the gift bag before she laughed.

"It's a bottle of champagne and a gift card to Borders" Shannon whispered.

Sara looked around at each of them at the table. "Thank you, so much." Sara reached up and tucked the bag under her chair. Before they could start talking though, Sue Sylvester appeared with a large bouquet of lipstick roses.

"Thumbelina" Sue bellowed as she walked in the room, "I happened to be walking past the office and noticed this atrocious call to attention being delivered. I told Connie I would be more than happy to bring them to you."

Sara's eyes went wide as saucers as she took in the sight of the roses, her favorites, yellow petals edged in red, Sue had in her arms. "Thank you Sue" Sara stumbled as she reached out to take the flowers.

"Don't thank me, Tinkerbell" Sue snapped. "They aren't from me. In fact, there is no name on the card, I wouldn't be surprised if you sent them to yourself in an attempt for birthday pity."

Sara shook her head at Sue, "I would never do such a thing. They must be from my aunt. She knows they are my favorite, and she is away right now." Sara glanced around for the card and sure enough, no name, just happy birthday. "Besides, not many people here know today is my birthday."

Emma made a noise like the squeak of a mouse. Will looked over at his fiancé but Emma just shook her head.

"A dozen roses on your birthday, what a nice gesture" Shannon said to Sara.

"Not a dozen" Sue said, as she pulled over a chair to join the group. "13- either the florist goofed of the person who sent them asked for 13. What say you pipsqueak, are you really some sort of 13 year old prodigy?" Sue demanded.

"What?" Sara gasped. "I'm 21, not 13. I have no idea why anyone would send me 13 roses."

"I've been reading a lot about flowers in general for the wedding" Emma began. "13 roses signifies a secret admirer. Which would make sense with no name on the card."

"Hmm" Sara said as she looked at the flowers wondering who would send her flowers anonymously. Sara wondered if it was Chad or one of her previous roommates and the number had just been mixed up.

Emma mean while was busying taping out something onto her phone. "And it says here that yellow roses with red tips signify friendship or falling in love."

"Maybe they are from your boyfriend" Shannon said.

Sara shook her head. "I don't think he knows it is my birthday. We haven't been dating all that long and I didn't want him to feel pressured to get me something. But I guess it could be possible."

The four continued to ponder who could have sent the flowers and if the number 13 was an accident or not though out the reminder of lunchtime. When the bell rang, Sue stood up first and walked over to Sara and put a hand on her shoulder. "Happy birthday small fry. Don't do something like drink and drive tonight if you go out and celebrate being legal now. Call a cab- please" Sue implored.

Sara choked back a sob and blinked before tears could spill. It was possibly the nicest thing Sue had ever said to her, but it was also a painful, bitter reminder of her parents' death. "Thanks Sue" she replied curtly. Sara turned to Will and gestured to the bag with the champagne bottles, "my car is in the shop right now Will, would you be able to lock those away in your office for the afternoon?"

"Sure Sara" Will replied as he grabbed the bag and made his way to his office. Sara then picked up her bag and her flowers before heading towards her classroom. "Thanks for everything guys" Sara said to Shannon and Emma.

"Happy Birthday! Have a fun weekend" Shannon exclaimed.

Will passed Emma in the hall as she was returning to her office after lunch and he was walking towards the Spanish classroom. He reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

"Emma, do you know who sent those flowers to Sara? You seemed a little weird about them."

Emma refused to look Will in the eyes. "I do not know who sent those flowers" she replied, stressing the word know.

"Emma" Will said as he tilted her chin and face up towards his, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Did you mention Sara's birthday to someone? Do you have an idea who those flowers may be from?"

Emma bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

"Please tell me you don't think they are from a student," Will demanded.

"Not a current student" Emma said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "A former one, who is here helping quite a bit."

"Finn" Will hissed his eyes wide.

Emma nodded again.

Will shook his head. "What happened to not telling him about it?" Will brought his fingers up to his temples and rubbed small circles as he closed his eyes. "This is screaming disaster to me- let's hope I am wrong."

Emma took one of Will's hands in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I think everything is going to be just fine." Then she turned and continued walking towards her office while Will continued on his way as well.

"So what is this all about" Sam asked Blaine once the majority of the glee club had assembled in the choir room at lunch time.

"Turns out today is Miss Walsh's birthday. Her 21st birthday I believe, and so Finn thought we might want to sing happy birthday to her and anything else you guys can think of" Blaine explained.

"Cool" Brittany said. "We can give her birthday smacks too!"

Everyone turned to look at Brittany with wide eyes.

"You know, like when we were kids and you get one for each year plus one extra for good luck."

Blaine closed his eyes and softly shook his head while Sam tried to explain to his girlfriend why they would not be smacking their quasi- teacher on her birthday. Brittany's eyes dawned with understanding and she nodded before she continued. "Well Mr Shue and Finn will just have to do it since they are the other teachers here" she finished quite proud of her solution.

Everyone starting laughing at that point and Blaine pulled out his phone to send a quick text to Kurt.

CUTIE: Finn found out today is Sara's 21st birthday. Brittany thought we (the New Directions) should give her the birthday smacks. Once Sam explained why we shouldn't smack one of our teachers, she has now decided that Finn (and Mr Shue to be fair) should smack Sara instead. *chuckles*

Blaine didn't think Kurt would respond right away since it was the middle of the day and even though it was lunch time for them, it might not be his lunch but either it was or he was not too busy at work because he responded almost right away.

SOULMATE: I really did not need that mental picture Blaine! I sometimes wonder how Brittany functions.

CUTIE: I actually think I might understand her logic on this one.

SOULMATE: Oh help us all!

SOULMATE: But you should be sure to mention that to Finn and record his reaction for me. Because that, that would be priceless.

CUTIE: *laughing*

CUTIE: Gotta go- we're actually supposed to be practicing Happy Birthday per Finn's request. See you tomorrow love!

SOULMATE: Love you!

Blaine clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "So I am sure we all know the song, let's give it a quick run though and then we can salvage whatever time is left for lunch."

The rest of the afternoon passed rather quickly as Sara taught her final classes of the day. Inevitably a student would ask about the roses and she would simply reply that they were a birthday gift from a friend and that always led to an impromptu and off key rendition of Happy Birthday. By the end of the day, Sara was more than happy to head towards the choir room and hear some not off key singing. With her bag over her shoulder and her roses in her arms, Sara walked the noisy but emptying corridors of McKinley towards the choir room. She paused in the doorway when she spied the lone occupant for the moment, Finn, sitting in a computer chair spinning himself around and around.

"You are going to end up so dizzy you are going to vomit all over the floor" Sara said with a smile as she walked into the room and over to the piano to lay down her flowers.

"Hey" Finn said as he attempted to stop the chair from spinning once he heard Sara's voice. "It's all good- I'm fine" he said as he went to stand up but almost fell over. "Woah- maybe not fine" he admitted with a smirk. Finn snaked a hand into the pocket of his jeans and held out a set of keys and dangled them in the air, "it was just the battery that had been run dead, good as new now." He tossed the keys to Sara but his sense of direction was still a little off kilter and the keys ended up slightly to her right and fell to the floor before skidding across the linoleum of the choir room floor. "Ooops" Finn said with a smirk.

"Geeze Finn" Sara started, "I thought you played football. That was a lousy pass" she joked as she walked over to her keys and kneeled down to pick them up.

"Sue me" Finn replied. "The room hasn't quite stopped spinning yet." He walked over to the piano and looked at the roses. "Pretty flowers pretty lady" he said.

"Hmmm?" Sara asked as she walked back towards Finn, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"I just said 'pretty flowers, you know, for a pretty lady'" he replied, looking down at his shoes.

"Thanks Finn" Sara said. "They are actually my favorite kind of roses" she explained.

"Really?" Finn exclaimed, lifting his head to look at her face. "Who are they from? What's the occasion?" he asked with a slight smirk.

Sara smirked back at him, not sure why he was smirking at her and then shook her head. "They are probably from my aunt because it is my birthday today, but I'm not really sure because there was no name on the card" she offered.

"You don't think they're from your boyfriend" Finn inquired.

"Maybe, but I don't think he knows today is my birthday so I am going to say probably not" Sara replied.

Finn stepped a little closer to Sara, standing less than an arms distance away now. "Well happy birthday Sara" he said with a large smile as he reached over and took one of her hands in his. He brushed his thumb back and forth over her knuckles while he squeezed her fingers gently.

Sara's breathing hitched as she felt Finn's touch. The contact made her toes tingle and her head spin, her heart beating loud in her ears. "Thanks Finn" she murmered as she turned her head in an attempt to hide the blush she felt creeping up her face. Sara noticed Will Schuester enter the room then and Finn quickly dropped her hand.

"Will" Sara began as she walked over to him, "can I get that parcel from your office to take to my car right now?"

"Sure" Will replied as he lead Sara into his office. He followed her out of the choir room and walked down towards Emma's office while Sara went to the parking lot.

While Sara and Will were away, the other glee club members filed into the room. Blaine entered with Sam and Brittany and upon seeing Finn Blaine immediately pulled out his phone and started recording. "Hey Brittany, why don't you share your birthday smack idea with Finn" Blaine suggested.

Brittany's face instantly brightened as she bounced over to the taller man. "Hey Finny," Brittany started as she slung an arm around his shoulders, "so you know how when we were kids we'd get birthday bumps or smacks at our parties? Well I thought we- the glee club- could do that for Miss Walsh. But apparently it isn't appropriate for students to smack their teachers. But you and Mr Shue aren't students, so you guys totally can smack her- for us!"

Blaine and Sam watched Finn with amused smirks as Finn's eyebrows shot up into his hairline at Brittany's suggestion and his face flooded with color.

"Um, Britt" Finn struggled, "it's probably not going to happen. But that doesn't mean it wasn't an…original idea." Finn watched as Brittany's shoulders slumped a little and she removed her arm from around him. He quickly enveloped her into his arms and whispered against her forehead, "You are so special Brit, don't ever change."

Brittany returned Finn's hug. "You're special too Finn. Sometimes I can't even figure out how special you are" Brittany replied with a tilt of her head.

Blaine stopped recording with his phone as Mr Shue and Miss Walsh walked back into the room. Everyone sits down in a seat, including Sara and Finn who sit off to the side together. Will Shuester clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Who has a song to start us off today?"

Blaine stood up, "I heard it through the grapevine that it is someone's birthday today" he said as he walked over and pulled Miss Walsh out of her chair and towards the middle of the room. "So we'd all like to sing to you." Blaine started singing with everyone joining him quickly. Sara's face was very red and her smile almost reached the corner of her eyes. She was touched.

Everyone returned to their seats but Blaine remained at the centre of the room. "I'd like to sing another song now" he started, "Sam, Tina and Brittney, come join me."

As the band started to play the music, Sara instantly recognized the song and sat back in her chair contentedly. Finn also recognized the song quickly as soon as Blaine began to sing a couple of notes.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

Finn put his arm out and casually rested it against the back of Sara's chair, his fingers curling around to lightly drum to melody of 'Iris" on her upper arm. Sara smiled up at him before she closed her eyes and listened to the harmonies of the four students in front of them.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

Everyone applauded eagerly for the quartet and Artie rolled himself forward with Sugar, Jake and Kitty joining him in the middle of the room. The band began to play an uptempo number as Artie began singing and Jake joining him and the girls switching off verses with them through "One Life".

_One chance, two lips, free falling  
We're about to lose our grip now  
Five minutes too late  
Can't be messing with fate  
It's time to get loud  
Cause we've been up  
When we should've been sleeping  
We've been down  
When we could've been high  
We'll come alive, tonight_

Sara found herself sitting up a little more, watching the performance a little more closely, but her feet tapping in time with the music. Sara looked over to discover Will was also tapping his feet along with the music while Finn, whose arm was no longer across the back of her chair, appeared to be playing air drums with his fingers.

_If you stop and think  
You might start to sink  
You can't get it  
If you don't keep giving  
Can't get it if you don't  
Keep giving  
Oh! _

Again, everyone applauded the performers for their upbeat performance, complete with some amazing dance moves from Kitty and Jake, before remainder of the club moved to the centre of the room. Ryder, Joe, Marley and Unique had chosen "Good Time" as their song.

_Woke up on the right side of the bed  
What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
Cuz it's always a good time._

It was by far the most upbeat of the three songs and before they had even gotten to the middle of the song everyone (including Sara, Will and Finn) were up and dancing around the room. Sara moved from group to group dancing with the boys and girls alike before finding herself between Will and Finn. It was a great ending to their meeting for the day.

_Good morning and good night  
I wake up at twilight  
It's gonna be alright  
We don't even have to try  
It's always a good time_

"Good job everyone" Mr Shue said before he dismissed everyone. "Those were good song choices. Everyone have a good weekend." The room erupted into boisterous chaos as everyone prepared to leave, walking out in groups chatting about plans for the night or Finn's party the next night. Friendly goodbye's echoed through the room as everyone headed in different directions. Finn reached out and put a hand on Sara's arm. "Hey can you stick around for a minute? I just need to talk to Artie quick first."

Sara nodded and walked over to the piano where her flowers were still sitting as Finn quickly strode across the room in determination and caught up with Artie who was being pushed by Sam. Finn followed them out into the hallway. The room quickly emptied and Will emerged from his office. "Did you need something" Will asked Sara when he saw her hanging around the choir room.

"Oh, just waiting for Finn" Sara replied as she nodded to his bag sitting on one of the chairs near the risers. "He just went to catch up with Artie about something."

Will nodded. "Sure, just be sure you guys turn off the lights in here when you are finished up ok." Will reached out and patted Sara's shoulder. "Happy Birthday! Have a fun weekend Sara."

"Thanks Will- I'll try" Sara promised. She picked up her roses and moved them over to shelf near the door.

Shortly after Will had left, Finn returned. "Hey thanks for waiting."

Sara nodded and smiled at Finn.

"So I have a little confession" Finn said as he went to his bag and pulled out a white cardboard bakery box. "I knew it was your birthday today. Miss P told me yesterday. And I may have told Blaine that the glee club needed to sing to you today" he offered with a grin. "And I might have gotten you a birthday treat" Finn said as he slid the box across the top of the piano to Sara.

Sara opened the top of the box to find a very chocolate cupcake with a single candle sticking out of it. "This is very sweet Finn- but you didn't need to" Sara acknowledged with a shake of her head.

"I figured you might say that" Finn replied. "But it's nothing, really. Here let me light that candle for you" he said as he fished a small box of matches from his pocket, walked around to her side of the piano and stuck one to light the candle.

Sara raised an eyebrow at him when the box of matches appreared.

Finn shrugged. "I picked them up at the bakery with the candle. Now close your eyes and make a wish birthday girl."

Sara closed her eyes and tried to think what she should wish for, she pursed her lips in concentration and before she had a chance to blow out the candle Sara felt warm, moist lips on hers. Sara's eyes flew open, somehow surprised to find Finn's face right there even though they were the only two in the room. Sara closed her eyes again as one of Finn's hands came up to cup her cheek and his other found her hip, gently coaxing her closer to him. Before she even really realized what she was doing, Sara's arms had twinned around Finn's neck and she was actively kissing him back. Just as Finn's tongue began to trace her lips, in an attempt to open for him, a voice startled them apart.

"Sorry, I just forgot my stack of..." Will's voice trailed off as he walked into the choir room and saw Finn and Sara kissing at the piano. Sara's head whipped around quickly as she heard Will's voice as her face flushed hot with embarrassment. Sara dodged her way around a startled Finn and she ran out into the hallway through the opposite door Will and Emma had entered through, down the darkened and quiet halls and out into the cooling evening breeze, not stopping until she reached her car and slipped inside. She quickly started her car and drove home as fast but safely as possible.

When Finn realised Sara had left, he started to go after her but Will's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Finn turned and blew out the still lit candle in the cupcake and put it back in the bakery box. Will was still standing near Finn and Emma had settled and sat down at the piano bench. Finn put the box back into his bag. "Were the roses from you Finn" Emma asked in a quiet voice.

Finn just nodded in response as he moved to the door and spied the roses on the shelf. "Not that it matters much, she didn't even bother to take them with her."

Emma shook her head, "no Finn, we were there when they came. She was very touched by the gesture and liked the roses very much. She was just in a hurry to get out of here before."

"Have a good weekend Mr Shue, Miss P" Finn said as he walked through the door, the roses in his arms. Finn walked out to his truck and put his stuff inside. As he slid into the drivers seat, Finn contemplated what he should do next. In the end, Finn found himself driving towards Sara's house to bring her the left behind cupcake and flowers.

When Sara arrived at home, she had changed out of her red blouse into a green tank top and shrugged off her shoes. She called and ordered a couple of her favorite items from her favorite Chinese place and then popped open the bottle of champagne and started drinking right from the bottle. Then Sara released her hair and let it fall in curls and waves down past her shoulders. When the doorbell rang, Sara put down her bottle of champagne, grabbed her wallet and walked to the door.

"That was fa- Finn" Sara exclaimed as she opened the door and found Finn Hudson on her doorstep and not a Chinese delivery driver.

"Hi" Finn smiled sheepily. "You forgot these" he said as he held out the flowers. "And this" he said as he pulled his other hand holding the white bakery box from behind him.

Sara held the door open widely to invite him in and took the roses from Finn. Finn closed the door and toes off his shoes before following Sara into the kitchen where she filled a vase with water and began to take off the water picks at the end of the rose stems. Finn put the white bakery box on the counter as well as he sat on a stool at the kitchen counter. "Thanks for bringing these to me" Sara said quietly. "I was in such a hurry to leave that I forgot about them."

"I noticed" Finn said with a shrug. "I hope it's ok that I came over with them and the cupcake."

Sara nodded as she arranged the roses in the vase. She picked up the bottle of champagne and took another swig from the bottle. "I'd offer you some" Sara said to Finn, "but you're not old enough and I've been drinking straight from the bottle. Can I get you something else to drink instead?"

Finn laughed, "I'll take a soda if you have one or water. It's not like it would be the first time I've had alcohol, but that's fine." Sara opened the fridge and pulled out a can of coke and slid it across the island to Finn. "So your big plans for your 21st birthday include drinking a huge bottle of champagne alone?"

"I don't have any friends my age here in Lima, and I was supposed to go back for the weekend to celebrate, but you know what happened there" Sara replied with a pointed look. "So I figured I'd just hang out here tonight, with my bottle of champagne – but that was a gift so it's an addition to my plans- some Chinese food and a movie or two."

"Is the boyfriend coming over to help you celebrate?" Finn asked.

"No" Sara shook her head. "I didn't tell him it was my birthday, I didn't want him to feel like he needed to do something for me or buy me a gift since this is such a new relationship, so I planned on it being just me."

"You know, I'd be happy to stay and keep you company, watch a movie with you and help you try to enjoy your birthday" Finn suggested as the doorbell rang again.

"Chinese Food" Sara said as she grabbed her wallet and bounced off to the door. When she returned, Sara had two bags of food.

Finn raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Your plan is to eat all of that alone?"

Sara shrugged. "Leftovers are not a bad thing, and Chinese makes good hangover food. You're welcome to stay. But you probably won't like the movie I was planning on watching" Sara said as she grabbed two plates and started unpacking the containers of food.

Finn took one of the plates and began helping himself to the Chinese food once Sara had filled her plate. Then he followed her into the living room and settled on the couch while she settled in front of the TV and dug out a movie and put it in. Sara walked back over to the couch and settled next to Finn, sitting crossed legged on the couch, balancing her plate on her legs.

"What movie is this?" Finn asked before he began eating.

"Romeo and Juliet- remember the clip I showed you before when we were working on that duet of When Doves Cry?" Sara said.

"Oh, right. At least it looks kind of interesting. Gangster like" Finn admitted.

Sara smirked as she continued eating.

About ten minutes later Finn looked over at Sara "Is it going to be like this the whole time? Because I can't understand a single thing anyone is saying."

Sara picked up the remote and paused the movie, "Just watch what they are doing, listen to the music and try not to focus too much on what they are saying, it'll still make sense- I promise." They continued to watch the movie, Sara pausing at different points to explain things she thought important. Sometimes Sara would pause when Finn would ask a question. But his questions became fewer and fewer as the movie went on.

_**A/N: **_

_**Songs included Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, One Life by Hedley and Good Time by Owl City featuring Carly Rae Jepsen.**_

_**I love this movie and most of the music in it. Check out watch?v=a9CnoKDPq3s for When Doves Cry set to various scenes from the movie. My personal favorite 3 scenes are 1) the fish tank, 2) the pool and 3) in the sheets the morning after. FYI- the next chapter is also called "The Morning After" and hopefully it will not take me quiet so long to update. **_


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